Chapter Three: Sorting
The train came to an abrupt stop, signalling that we were arriving at Hogwarts. I stayed with Harry, Ron, and Hermione as the train emptied.
"This way, Melody! The first years go to the boats, and we go to the carriages," Hermione explained, showing me the way.
"The Thestrals are beautiful!" I exclaimed when I saw them. There were at least hundred carriages, all being pulled by them.
"Thestrals?" Hermione asked, curious surprise flicking across her face. "What are they?"
"Oh, they're creatures similar to horses, but only those who have witnessed death can see them. I've seen a lot of... well, murders, unfortunately," I clarified, a little gladly shocked that Hermione didn't know. From what I could tell, she was a know-it-all.
"Oh. Well, let's find a carriage," Hermione said after a moment of silence, leading the way to one of the carriages.
Harry, Ron, Hermione, and I climbed in one of the carriages, and when we got in, we heard a sneering voice that we knew all too well.
"Oh, it's the spineless coward quartet again," Draco sneered, his voice filled with loathing.
"Malfoy," Harry, Ron, and Hermione all retorted in sync.
They turned to me, waiting for me to retort as well.
"Draco. Still licking your father's backside, I see?" I sneered, doing my best insulting expression, which wasn't very good in my opinion.
Harry, Hermione, and Ron stared at me in shock for a minute, then burst out laughing, bending over and holding their stomachs, tears of laughter falling down their face.
"You can't talk to my Drakey Poo like that! Who do you think you are? Mudblood and blood traitor, probably," a ridiculously riling squawk, I mean, a voice, piped.
"Oh look, parasite pug face prostitute makes an appearance! Do you want a cookie for that?" I humiliated the girl who attempted to be all over Draco. No, I wasn't jealous...
I saw Draco bite his lip, and I wondered if it was to try and stifle a snicker. His shock about my insult had faded away, especially with a wild prostitute on the loose.
"Follow us, Melody! You can sit at the Gryffindor table 'till it's time for your sorting," Harry invited as we climbed out of our carriage.
"Thanks, guys!" I exclaimed, relieved that I wouldn't totally be out of place.
The four of us hugged each other tightly, but before we had the chance to get emotional, the gates to Hogwarts opened, and students started to pile into the Great Hall. Golden plates and goblets glowed by the light of hundreds and hundreds of candles, floating over the tables in midair.
Gawking, I trailed after the Golden Trio, forever a member. Together, we took a seat and got settled with the rest of the Gryffindors at the Gryffindor table at the far side of the hall, having passed the tables of the other three houses: the Slytherins, the Ravenclaws, and the Hufflepuffs.
From what the three had told me, Slytherin was the house where all the bad witches and wizards were sorted into. Professor Snape, who taught Potions, was the head of the house. Apparently, he picked on students and hit them with books. The only students he liked were members of his own house, the Slytherins. Tom Riddle was also in Slytherin before he became him, so I heard.
The other houses were pretty good, I was told. Of course, they were biased because they were in Gryffindor, so they said Gryffindor was the best house. Ravenclaws were known for their wisdom and creativity, Hufflepuffs were known for being patient and loyal, and Gryffindors were known for their bravery and chivalry. Each house had its own Common Room and dormitory, the dormitories separated by gender, along with its own table in the Great Hall, and students mostly have lessons with classmates from the same house. One teacher from each house acted as the head of their house and there was no rule against mingling with students from different houses, especially since houses did share some lessons, and each house head and house ghost, which every house also had, was previously a pupil within that house.
An old brown hat, which Hermione pointed out to me as the Sorting Hat, sat on a stool next to an old woman in a long green gown with a green pointed hat. I was told that was Professor McGonagall, Head of Gryffindor.
The rip near the brim of the hat open and it sang its song, then began sorting first-years. I fidgeted as I waited impatiently at the Gryffindor table for my time to be sorted. As more and more first-years were put into their houses, the more fearful I became.
The first years all got sorted, each one content with their house. But then it was my turn.
"We have a new student with us. She'll be joining in the fourth year; however, she must be sorted. Prince, Melody!" Professor McGonagall called.
I dragged myself up from the Gryffindor table to the stool where Professor McGonagall held the sorting hat. The hat was placed on my head as I sat down.
"Well, well, what do we have here?" a quiet voice next to my ear asked. The hat. "Why, it's You-Know-Who's daughter, of course," the hat commented.
At the mention of him, I stiffened immediately, bracing myself for what was about to come.
"Ah," the hat continued, its next sentence surprising me. "But we're not here to talk about your father, dearie, no, of course not." The hat paused. "This is your time, your house."
Reassured, I felt my whole body relax and I breathed out a sigh of relief.
"Now," the hat pondered, "where on earth shall I put you? Where do you belong?" The hat took a moment, then started to think out loud. "You are shy, afraid of being shunned and hated, never wanting to be enclosed in darkness. You don't want to live in fear, but too many people have hurt you. At the same time, you don't want people to fear you for any reason. You strongly believe in equality, and would never want to rule over others, especially house elves or other greatly misunderstood creatures. You have a vast imagination and a hidden wit, undiscovered even by yourself. You have a competitive streak and are willing to work hard for what you want. You want to learn as much as possible and are proud of your freaky flaws, but sometimes, you can be too prideful and stubborn and are reminded of just who exactly your father is and what he's done. You believe in shades of grey and in time, you will become bolder and have enough courage to stand up for yourself, the friends you haven't met yet, and what you believe in your heart is right." The hat paused again. "Your lonely past haunts you, Melody, and so you don't trust easily; however, you pride yourself most on your kindness."
Please, anywhere but Slytherin.
Seeming to sense my thoughts, the hat chuckled and asked, "Don't want to be shadowed by your father's reputation and be forced to follow in his footsteps, do you?"
I gave no answer because the hat obviously already knew it.
"Well, then," the hat commented. "Both Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff will suit you well. Tell me, Melody, where would you like to go?"
I gave my answer. The voices agreed; to honour the mockingbird, I would go where the badger runs with the three blind mice.
"Just, loyal, true... Clearly, HUFFLEPUFF!"
There were a lot of cheers, especially from the Hufflepuff table and the Golden Trio. Slytherin, obviously, didn't clap at all. Happy with my house, I took the hat off, whispered a thank you to it, and bounded over to the Hufflepuff table. It wasn't Gryffindor, but I was okay with that. I could see them later and this was a perfect opportunity for me. I couldn't really explain it, but I felt comfortable being surrounded by Hufflepuffs. It was weird, I know. But for some reason, I felt at ease in my own skin at Hogwarts. It was the same feeling that I had with the voices.
Professor Dumbledore came up to the podium and told us to tuck in. Our empty plates and goblets magically filled with food and drink and the Great Hall became alight with cheerful chatter, the wide torch fires along the walls and the old-fashioned candle chandeliers above our heads burning brightly, illuminating the sea of students lined at each of the long House tables.
I looked down at my plate to see a meat pie! The Muggle caretaker at the Riddle house used to make them for me all the time before he was murdered. He was the father I never had and I even helped him sometimes. Our favourite was steak and kidney pie and we always made them the Muggle way. Magic destroyed my life, so it was always nice to get a break and actually put effort into cooking. Plus, it gave us more to bond over, instead of just using my unstable magic. He also wasn't aware of the wizarding world, being a Muggle and all. I hoped that by being here at Hogwarts, I could learn to appreciate and maybe even love magic. I was hoping that all magic wasn't horrendous. According to the voices, magic was fun.
Picking up my fork, I dug into the meat pie, hoping it was a steak and kidney one. As I took my first bite, I found that I was right. It was a steak and kidney pie!
Yum... I closed my eyes and savoured the taste.
"It appears you're enjoying the feast," a male voice interrupted my haze. This voice was different than my regular visitors. It couldn't have been one of the voices; I had taken my Muggle medication before getting on the train to Hogwarts and its full force had kicked it after my sorting, meaning that the voices had disappeared.
Swinging my head to my left, I took a good look at the stranger sitting beside me. I might have been crazy, but I knew beauty when I saw it, and this boy was handsome all right.
"Uh, hi." I had no idea what to say; I was beyond awkward at anything to do with socialising. Meeting new people? Definitely not, but here was someone who actually wanted to have a conversation with me. I probably did a double-take, I was so surprised. Were people used to craziness here? I had never met someone like me, but then again, I had only met very few people.
The pretty boy chuckled heartily – such a joyous sound. "Hi. I'm Cedric Diggory."
"Oh, um, Melody Prince." Again, so awkward. It made me kind of wish I didn't take my pills today. At least the voices gave me more confidence. Without them, I felt empty, and I would have picked craziness over emptiness any day.
"That's right, you're new and just got Sorted. Welcome to Hufflepuff, Melody!"
