Chapter 7
The Sorting Heads
Hey guys, K.J.A. here again. Sorry about not updating these past couple of days, but the next chapter is here now. I should mention that I have never been to Dover, so please don't judge me too harshly for my description of it. Oh, and I should mention that the headmistress (the mother of the Dawsons') is slightly biased, but she's a good person, just so you know. Oh, and if there are any of my old friends from Meols Cop, or Holy Trinity which moved on to other schools in the North West of England, you'll mention some of your names in here; so sorry if you don't want them mentioned, for I didn't know, so just email me and I will take them off for you. Now, here's the next chapter, anyway, so enjoy.
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"Welcome to Dragon Mort," said the witch – who I was soon going to find out was called Professor Darbus, but more on that in the next chapter. "In a moment you will pass through these doors and join your classmates, but first you must be sorted into your houses; they are called Lion-Heart, Raven-Wings, Badger-Stripes and Snake-Eyes. Now, while you are here, your house will be something like your family. You will attend classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory and spend your free time in your house common room.
"I must tell you that while you are here your triumphs will earn your house points, and if there is any rule breaking your house will lose points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points will win the House Cup, a great honour. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house you are put in.
"I will be back for you in a moment and the Sorting Ceremony will begin momentarily." She then turned on her heel and walked through the doors behind her.
"It's true then," said a voice close to my left; I turned and saw the pale girl from Sir Waldin's robe shop. "They were saying it on the submarines. Kiara Pride-Lander has come to Dragon Mort."
I heard everyone gasp and felt many eyes on me. I just kept looking at the pale girl and the three people behind her. A tall, stout girl with blond, waist-length hair and green-blue eyes stepped forward.
"Oh, I'm her cousin, Keziah Rae-Bradley. And these two," said Rae-Bradley, pointing to the small, thin girls behind her, "are Crate and Gabber."
"And I'm Malty … Dani Malty," said the pale girl, coming towards me.
I heard Sian whisper, "It's like she's saying, "The name's Bond ... James Bond"." At this, Chrissie give a snigger behind me. Dani Malty looked at her.
"Think my name's funny, do you? No need to ask who you are. Brown hair, and a shiny-new uniform … you must be a Dawson."
She turned back to me.
"You'll soon find out that some wizarding families are better than others, Pride-Lander. You don't want to be making friends with the wrong sort. I can help you there."
She held out her hand, but I didn't shake it.
"I think I can tell the wrong sort for myself, thanks," I said coolly.
"Nice move, kid," Sian whispered in my ear, as Malty glared at me, but I was glad when the witch came back and patted Malty on the shoulder. Malty turned round and went to join Rae-Bradley, Crate and Gabber. "We're ready for you now," said the witch. "So form a line and follow me."
I stood with Chrissie next to me and we walked through the double doors into the Great Hall.
I had never imagined such a strange and splendid place. It was lit by thousands and thousands of candles which were floating in mid-air over five long tables – four of which were from near the doors at the front of the Hall and just stopping at the steps which led up to the long, teachers' tables at the head of the Hall. These tables were laid with glittering silver plates and goblets. The witch led us first-years up here, so that we came to a line facing the teachers, with the students behind us. I guessed that the hundreds of faces looking at us looked like pale lanterns in the flickering candlelight. Manly to avoid the staring eyes, I looked upwards and saw a velvety black ceiling dotted with stars. I heard Sian whisper, "It's not real the ceiling. It's bewitched to look like the night's sky. I read about it in Dragon Mort: A History."
It was hard to believe there was a ceiling there at all, and that the Great Hall simply didn't open to the heavens.
I quickly looked at the witch again as she placed a four-legged stool in front of us. The witch turned to face the rest of the students and us and shouted, "The Sorting Heads!"
One after another, four smoky heads came through the double doors, stopped right in front of us and turned into an animal head; the first turned into a golden lion head, with a scarlet mane and eyes, the second a blue raven head with bronze eyes, the third a badger head, the black stripes remained, but the white were replaced with yellow, and then came the snake head, which was green apart from the eyes and underneath which were replaced with silver. As the rest of the students clapped and cheered, the four heads bowed to them and then turned to face the teachers.
"The Sorting Scroll, if you please," the witch said to the Sorting Heads. We all had to wait a minute, but then the snake-head opened its mouth, and the scroll floated in mid-air and passed slowly to the witch's hand. She then went back to where the stool stood and turned to face us first-years again.
"Now when I call your name," she said, "you will come forth, sit on the stool, and you will be Sorted into your houses." She held up the scroll and called out the first name, "Abbott, Harold."
A red-faced boy with blond hair stepped forward and sat on the stool. A moment's pause –
"SQUEAK!" shouted the badger-head.
The table on the right cheered and clapped as Harold went to sit down at the Badger-Stripes table.
"Bryce, Oliver!"
"SQUEAK!" shouted the badger-head again, and Oliver went off to join Harold.
"Bold, Tina!"
"CAW!" shouted the raven-head.
"Bore, Nikita" was next – she was the girl I saw in the sub room who had lost her toad – she had to wait a bit, but at last the lion-head roared and she went to join the Lion-Heart lot.
The table second from the left clapped this time; several Raven-Wings stood up to shake hands with Tina as she joined them.
"Black, Joseph" went to Raven-Wings too, but "Brown, Lawrence" became the first new Lion-Heart and the table on the far left exploded with cheers.
"Bull, Mackley" became the first Snake-Eyes. Perhaps it was my imagination, but I thought they looked like a rather unpleasant lot.
I was starting to feel sick now, my stomach kept lurching horribly, my mouth went dry and my palms were sweaty.
"Cole, Justine!"
"SQUEAK!"
When Chrissie's name was called, I could see that she looked absolutely terrified, but she walked up to the school and sat down quickly. She waited, and then –
"ROAR!" shouted the lion-head.
Relieved, Chrissie went to another table that I hadn't seen before, it was above the door to the Great Hall and she sat there.
"Dawson, Sian."
Sian almost ran to the stool and sat there eagerly waiting. The snake- and raven-heads were both after her, and argued, but eventually the lion-head had his say and let out a mighty -
"ROAR!"
I watched many more get sorted; "Garnett, Laura" went to Badger-Stripes, "Howard, Chelsea" and "Heredia, Stephanie" both went to Badger Stripes. Then, "Lunn, Callum" was put in Lion-Heart.
Malty swaggered forward when her name was called and she got her wish at once, for as soon as she had sat on the stool the snake-head gave a "HISS!" the same happened with Rae-Bradley, too.
There weren't many of us left now.
"Mack" … "Mann" … "Nott" … "Parker" … and then, at last –
"Pride-Lander, Kiara!"
As I stepped forward, whispers suddenly broke out like spitting fires all over the hall.
"Pride-Lander, did she say?"
"The Kiara Pride-Lander?"
When I sat on the stool, I saw the entire hall staring at me. So to avoid the eyes, I looked up at the Sorting Heads. I waited. Then, something weird happened …
The raven- and badger-heads both moved to the wall, as the lion- and snake-heads both started having an argument with each other. No one could understand what they were saying – for it was all just spitting, hissing and growling, and then a voice in my head started to say, "Not Snake-Eyes, not Snake-Eyes."
Somehow, the heads could tell what was going through my head because every now and then they would look at me. It wasn't just me who was watching this though, because I saw the rest of the students following the heads like they were watching a tennis rally. Finally the two heads stopped. For a minute all was quiet. Then –
"ROOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRR!" the lion-head almost flew me off the stool; its roar was that loud. But it wasn't just me though; students were picking themselves off the floor and were sitting back down again.
When all was still and as it was before, I got off the stool and walked towards where Sian and Chrissie were. I was so relieved not to have been put in Snake-Eyes that I didn't realise that I was receiving the biggest cheer yet; people were patting my shoulder as I walked past until I reached Sian and Chrissie, who placed me between them. I now could see the High Table properly. The table in the middle was empty, but I didn't take much notice of that, for I looked along and saw Mina, who grinned at me, and I grinned back and I also spotted Professor Quarrel from the Witching Service, too.
There were a few people to be sorted now. Sian, Chrissie and I cheered loudly when Chris was put in Lion-Heart. Then "Rimmer, Beki" was put in Lion-Heart, "Rimmer, Christopher" was put in Badger-Stripes, "Rimmer, Sarah" – his sister by the looks of things – was put in Lion-Heart, "Seddon, Jonathon", "Seddon, Peter" and "Simms, Jack" were put in Lion-Heart also, along with "Thistlethwaite, Lia".
Finally, "Zamba, Biana" was placed in Snake-Eyes. The witch took up the stool, ravelled up the scroll and took them away, just as the Sorting Heads all went out of the Great Hall.
I looked down at my empty plate. I had only just realised how hungry I was. The sweets I had on the submarine seemed ages ago.
The witch stood at the teachers table and said loudly, "Here is our Headmistress of Dragon Mort, Susan Crighton!"
The Sorting Heads swooped back into the Great Hall, and spun around in the middle, as a blinding white light surrounded them. As the light vanished and the Sorting Heads left the hall for the second – and hopefully – last time – a tall, thin woman, with bright, twinkling green eyes and waist-length brown hair, which was going silver stood in the middle. I would recognise her from anywhere, for she was Professor Crighton, the witch who I had met earlier this year, just before I got my letter. She had a large smile on her face and her arms were held wide in welcome.
"Welcome one – and all – to Dragon Mort Magical Academy!" she said loudly. As she walked to the teachers table to take her seat there, the students – including us first years – applauded loudly together. When she stood behind the table and in front of her seat, the hall fell silent and we all looked eagerly at her.
"Welcome!" she said again. "Welcome to a new year at Dragon Mort! Before we begin our feast, I would like to say a few words. And these are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!
"Thank you!"
She sat down. Everyone cheered and clapped again. I didn't know whether to laugh or not.
"Is she – a bit mad?" I asked Sian uncertainly.
"Mad?" said Sian airily. "My mother's a genius, Kiara! Best witch in the world! But yes, I suppose she is a bit mad. Potatoes, Kiara?"
My mouth fell open. The dishes in front of me were now piled with food. I had never seen so many delicious things I'd like to eat on one table; roast beef, roast chicken, pork and lamb chops, sausages, bacon and steak, boiled potatoes, roast potatoes, chips, Yorkshire pudding, peas, carrots, gravy, ketchup and, for some reason, mint humbugs.
My grandmothers had always kept me well fed, but I had never had this much food on a table before my time at Dragon Mort. I piled my plate with a bit of everything except the mint humbugs and began to eat. It was all delicious.
As we were eating, a ghost appeared through one of the plates. We all jumped at this. She said to us, "Hello! How are you? Welcome to Lion-Heart!"
When the ghost had finished this, there was a commotion in the Great Hall, for all the other school ghosts came floating in through the walls and started to show off a bit.
"You're Madam Nicola, aren't you?" asked Sian eagerly. "Resident ghost of Lion-Heart Tower!"
"That's right, my dear girl, I am Madam Nicola!" said the ghost. I looked at Madam Nicola closely and saw that she was wearing a long gown and had her hair partly tied up, for it rumbled down her back ever so smoothly, it was very beautiful to behold. Anyhoo, Madam Nicola looked at Sian closely and then exclaimed, "Galloping gargoyles! You're Sian Dawson, eldest Dawson girl and Susan Crighton's favourite child, aren't you?"
Sian sighed and said indignantly, "Isn't there a person here who my mother hasn't told about me yet?"
Madam Nicola chuckled and said, "Well, she has a right to be proud of you after all the things she says that you have done, you know?"
"Yes, I do. But I do wish that my parents would talk about some of the things my other siblings have done for once, because I always seem to think that my parents only have one child in the family, and that's me, their eldest! I mean, don't get me wrong, it's great and all, but I just wish that they would concentrate some of their attention on my other siblings, that's all!"
"That's very selfless of you," said Madam Nicola, surprised.
"Yes, well, sometimes I do think of that, but that's only when I'm feeling really low," said Sian.
"Hey, I know you!" burst in Chrissie suddenly and Madam Nicola looked at her. "You're Nearly Headless Nicola!"
"I prefer Madam Nicola, if you don't mind!" said Madam Nicola indignantly.
"Nearly headless?" said Chris. "How can you be Nearly Headless?"
"It'll put you off your food," muttered Sian, looking down at her plate and continuing to eat.
"Like this," Madam Nicola said irritably. She seized her left ear and pulled. Her whole head swung off its neck and fell on to her shoulder as if it was on a hinge. Someone had obviously tried to behead her, but not done it properly. Me, Chris and Chrissie were quite horrified by what we had just seen; as for Sian, she just kept eating as if nothing had just happened. I was astonished by this! I mean, a ghost pulled almost its whole head off, and she wasn't affected one bit! I didn't understand, so I asked her, "How were you not affected by that?"
She simply replied, "I've lived through a lot, Kiara. Enough said." And I didn't say anything after that, but I did wonder what she had lived through and seen, for it seemed that nothing surprised this girl.
"Do you ever get surprised by anything?" I asked Sian.
"No, not really."
When we had eaten as much as we could, the remains of the food faded from the plates, leaving them sparkling clean as before. A moment later the puddings appeared. Blocks of ice-cream in every flavour you could think of, apple pies, treacle tarts, chocolate éclairs and jam doughnuts, trifle, strawberries, jelly, rice pudding …
As I helped myself to a treacle tart, the talk turned to our families.
"Well, our family are all pure-bloods," said Chrissie. I looked shocked, but then Chrissie said, "Oh, don't look at me like that, kid. We're not like those snobbish pure-blood families, don't you worry. Our family all believe that it doesn't matter if you're pure-blood or Muggle-born, if you have magic in you and have talent, then you have a right to show yourself as you want to be. Isn't that right, S.D.?"
Sian gulped the bit of pudding down that she was eating and said, "Chrissie's right, Kiara. We will help anyone who needs it and be there for people, as long as they have a good heart and deserve to be helped."
"I'm glad to hear that," I said. Then I turned to Chris. "How about your real family, Chris? I mean, how did you end up coming to live with the Dawson clan, if you don't mind me asking?"
Chris turned to me and said, "Not at all. Well, when I was a baby, my mum took care of me, 'cause my dad was doing something from the Ministry, that's what Ma told me. Anyhoo, when he disappeared as I was told then – I understand now that they were really telling me he died – my mum didn't take it very well. She started to ignore me and she was screaming. Apparently, a couple of weeks went by, and then Social Services were called. She – my mum – was taken to a mental institution, whilst I was put into care …"
"But how did you come to live with the Dawson's?"
"I'm getting to that, Kiara, for you see, I waited in that care home four years until Professor Crighton and her husband came to get me, and I went home with them. I've considered them as my parents ever since, that's why I call them Ma and Dad and consider Sian, Chrissie and the rest of their siblings as my siblings also."
"Wow", I said, "and I thought I'd had a pretty bad start to living in this world."
"Yeah, I know. But, what're you going to do, eh?" he said, giving a dry chuckle; but he didn't seem to happy afterwards. I waited a few minutes before I said, "Do you have anything from them?"
"Yeah, I do." And he pulled from his pocket a ring with a black diamond in the middle and purple runes surrounding the silver binding. "I remember the people in care giving me this before I left with Ma and Dad. They told me that my real father gave this to my real mother before he went away on his mission."
"Mission? To where?" I asked Chris.
"To Africa. He was in a base there when he disappeared in mysterious circumstances."
"Interesting …" I muttered to myself as I kept eating. The place where I was attacked and where Zira fled. I thought that Chris' father could have been watching what Zira was doing over there. But I pushed that out of my head as the topics switched from families to studies at the school.
Chris then turned to Sian and discussed lessons with her: "I do hope they start straight away, there's so much to learn, I'm particularly interested in Transfiguration, you know, turning something into something else, of course, it's supposed to be difficult, but I am willing to get started straight away."
"Oh, me too, dear brother, me too. Transfiguration is a subject that I want to get started on, too, but we'll be starting off small, you know, just matches into needles and that sort of thing, Ma told me."
I was starting to feel warm and sleepy, so I looked up at the High Table again. Mina was drinking deeply from her goblet. The witch who had sorted us was talking deeply with Professor Crighton. Professor Quarrel was talking to a teacher with greasy strawberry-blonde hair, a hooked nose and sallow skin. She also had circle spectacles on.
It happened very suddenly. The hook-nosed teacher looked past Quarrel's turban straight into my eyes – and a sharp, hot pain shot across the scar on my forehead.
"Ouch!" I clapped a hand to my forehead.
"What is it?" asked Chrissie.
"N-nothing."
The pain had gone as quickly as it had come. Harder to shake off was the feeling I had got from the teacher's look – a feeling that I didn't like at all. I decided to ask Sian about the teacher, because I thought that she was the one who knew most about the school and the teachers in it. So I leant across the table to talk to her.
"Sian, who is that teacher talking to Professor Quarrel?"
"Oh, you know Quarrel already, do you? No wonder she's looking nervous, that's Professor Triphorm. She teaches Potions, but everyone knows she fancies the Dark Arts. She's been after Quarrel's job for years. My family have all met her, you know."
"You have?" I said, shocked.
"Oh yes," said Sian. "You see, Professor Triphorm, Professor Darbus – the teacher who sorted us into our houses – and some old friend and colleague of Ma's whose name I forget came round to ours this Christmas just gone. It went well for some of the Christmas dinner, but then it all went wrong …" Sian was shaking her head in embarrassment and shame.
"Why, what happened?"
"Well, this buffoon," said Sian, pointing to Chris, "Ben and Dave – who we have fostered – and Beth and Kerry our twin sisters started throwing food at them. I was embarrassed, Ma yelled at them a lot, Darbus and Triphorm always said that they would get the ones who threw food at them and the old friend and colleague of Ma's, do you know what she did, Kiara?"
"No, what?"
"She laughed."
"What!?"
"Yeah, I know! She just sat there and laughed her head off! Honestly, sometimes I think she's just as mad as Ma is, though if you meet Ma in private, don't tell her I said that." And to this day I've kept that promise.
I watched Triphorm for a while but Triphorm didn't look at me again.
At last, the puddings too disappeared and Professor Crighton got to her feet again. The Hall fell silent.
"Ahem – just a few more words now we are all fed and watered. I have a few start-of-term notices to give you.
"First-years should note that the forest in the grounds is forbidden to all pupils. And a few of our older students would do well to remember that as well."
Crighton's twinkling eyes flashed in the direction of a pair of twin girls down below.
"I have also been asked by Mr Match, the caretaker, to remind you all that no magic should be used between classes in the corridors.
"Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of term. Anyone interested in playing for their house teams should contact Sir Turner.
"And finally, I must tell you that this year, the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a very painful death."
"Painful?" said Chris.
"Death?" said Chrissie.
"Honestly, you two are just like Shaggy and Scooby-Doo," muttered Sian.
"Right, I've said all that is important and what you need to know for the year ahead," said Crighton, smiling at us all. "And now, off to bed! Off you go!"
As Crighton walked round the table, Sian quickly went down from the table we were sitting at and went to meet her mother. I closely followed Sian from behind.
"Hello, Mother," said Sian to Crighton, whose back was turned. When she heard her daughter's voice, she turned to face her. When Crighton saw her, her face lit up.
"Is that my Siany?" she asked.
"The one and only, Ma," said Sian. Then she ran to Crighton, who picked her up and spun her round. For the first time since I had seen her that morning, Sian looked was smiling like a young girl, full of joy and laughter. "Ma, put me down," giggled Sian. Crighton put Sian down and then they began to talk.
It had to be seen to be believed, but the resemblance between Sian and her mother was uncanny; even though Sian was slightly smaller than her mother, they looked remarkably alike. And the relationship between them was astounding; it was like they shared a special connection – a bond if you will – which no one, not even those two, could figure out. It was so beautiful to see them together as I watched them talk, that it made me think about what the relationship with my own mother could have been like, which made me feel sad. Sian must have noticed a look on my face or something, because the next thing I can remember, she touched me on my shoulder, and I looked into her concerned face, with her mother just behind her.
"Are you all right, Kiara?" Sian asked me. "It's just that you seem upset. What's wrong?"
"It's just that I was thinking about the relationship between you and your mother, and what the relationship with my own mother could have been."
"Oh, my dear child, we are sorry," said Crighton, stepping forward so that I could hear her more clearly. "Anyway, it's good to see you and Sian getting along so nicely Kiara, even though you just met today. What house are you in, Kiara?"
"Lion-Heart, ma'am," I said to Crighton.
"Splendid, just like your parents before you. Well, I'll let you go off to bed, for I can see Perdy at the door waiting for you. Look after Kiara, Sian."
"I will, Mother, I promise," said Sian to her mother.
"And you be sure to come to my office on Saturday, Sian. I want to hear how your fist week of school went."
"Yes Mother."
"Good girl," said Crighton, hugging her daughter and kissing her on the head. "Goodnight girls."
"Goodnight, Ma," said Sian.
Goodnight, ma'am," I said, and then me and Sian ran towards the door to the Great Hall, where Perdy was waiting for us. When we joined her and the rest of our fellow first-years, we followed Perdy out of the Great Hall and up the marble staircase. My legs were like lead, but this time it was because I was so tired and full of food. I was too sleepy to be surprised that the people in the portraits along the corridors whispered and pointed as we passed, or twice Perdy led us through sliding passages and hanging tapestries. We climbed more staircases, yawning and dragging our feet, and I was wondering how much further we had to go when we came to a sudden halt.
A bundle of floating sticks were floating in mid-air ahead of us and as Perdy took a step towards them they started throwing themselves at her.
"Weeves," Perdy whispered to us. "A poltergeist." She raised her voice, "Weeves – show yourself."
A loud, rude sound, like the sir being let out of a balloon, answered.
"Do you want me to go to the Bloody Baroness?"
There was a pop and a little woman with wicked dark eyes and a wide mouth appeared, floating cross-legged in the air, clutching the walking sticks.
"Oooooooh!" she said, with an evil cackle. "Ickle firsties! What fun!"
She swooped suddenly at us. We all ducked.
"Go away, Weeves, or the Baroness'll hear about this, I mean it!" barked Perdy.
Weeves stuck out her tongue and vanished, dropping the walking sticks on Nikita's head. We heard her zooming away, rattling coats of armour as she passed.
"You want to watch out for Weeves," said Perdy, as we set off again. "The Bloody Baroness's the only one who can control her, she won't even listen to us Prefects. Here we are."
At the end of the corridor hung a portrait of a very fat man in blue robes.
"Password?" he said.
"Caput Draconis," said Perdy, and the portrait swung forward to reveal a round hole in the wall. We all scrambled through it – Nikita needed a leg up – and we found ourselves in the Lion-Heart common room, a cosy, round room full of squashy armchairs.
"This is the Lion-Heart common room," said Perdy to us. "The staircase will lead to the dormitories; girls down to your left, boys the same on your right. You'll already find that all your belongings have been brought up for you."
So we went to our dormitories. Sian and Chrissie said that I could sleep in their dormitory at the top of the stairs, because their mother was the headmistress; so, of course, I joined them. Inside, three four-posters hung with different coloured curtains for each bed; Sian's was deep blue, Chrissie's was deep green and mine were deep gold. Our trunks had already been brought up for us, as Perdy already said they would be. Too tired to talk much, we pulled on our pyjamas and got into bed. I was going to ask Chrissie if she'd had any treacle tart, but I fell asleep almost at once.
Perhaps I had eaten a bit too much, for I remember vaguely having a very strange dream. I was wearing Professor Quarrel's turban, which kept telling me to transfer to Snake-Eyes at once, because it was my destiny. I told the turban I didn't want to be in Snake-Eyes; it got heavier and heavier; I tried to pull it off but it tightened painfully – and I remember Malty laughing at me as I struggled with it – and then Malty turned into Triphorm, whose laugh became high and cold – there was a burst of green light and I awoke, sweating and shaking.
I rolled over and fell asleep again, and when I woke the next day, I vaguely remembered the dream at all. The only reason I know of it now, is because I used a pensieve (which I'll get to much later) to look at my old memories for this book for some of the stuff that I had forgotten, and that's how I remember this dream, before anyone asks any questions. Now, on with the story.
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So, that was chapter 7. I hope you enjoyed it. Please R&R and I will write again soon.