It was dark by the time they reached Hogwarts, and Oliver had learned a lot about Harry. Apparently, they had a lot in common. They were both orphaned young and were being taken care of by someone very close to their family, although technically, Oliver was being taken care of by the soulmate of someone very close to his family.
"So, do you think Professor Dumbledore will let you join the fifth and sixth year classes?" Hermione asked. "I mean, you're fifteen and sixteen. Surely he can't make you take the first year classes."
"To be fair, Hermione, they haven't been coming to Hogwarts as long we have, by the sounds of it." Harry reminded her as they got off the train. "They might have to catch up."
"I need Oliver Mason and Esther Sage! Front and centre!" Called a loud voice. Hagrid!
Esther and Oliver exchanged looks, before hurrying off into a sea of eleven year olds, where they reached Hagrid.
"Professor Dumbledore told me that you two are to be Sorted with the first years, seeing as yur not in a house. Also, I gave ye a last name, Esther. So ye wouldn't stick out so much." House? Sorted? As Oliver and Esther were brought into a boat towards the castle, they felt very uneasy.
When they finally entered the school, they and the eleven year olds around them were met by a woman in an emerald green robe and a tall witch's hat.
"Welcome to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Here, you will be placed into one of four different houses. Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, or Slytherin." As they listened, Oliver felt Esther take his hand and give it a squeeze, smiling at him encouragingly.
"They are ready for you now." Then the witch led them into the Great Hall, where Oliver was amazed by the sight of the endless ceiling, the four tables and that ran up and down the length of the hall, and the banner adorning the crests of each house.
"Before we begin our traditional Sorting Ceremony, I would like for Oliver Mason and Esther Sage to come up to the front." Oliver and Esther made their way to the front, hearing some whispers behind them. "Oliver and Esther are here as exchange students, and therefore are late in their Sorting. But this does not exempt them from being treated like any other fifth year student." Then she gestured to a stool, and Oliver looked to Esther, before taking a seat, and the witch placing a tattered hat onto his head.
"Ah, a late arrival I see!" Oliver nearly yelped when he heard the hat speaking. "And what is this, but blood that runs through the veins of one of the otherworld. A grandson of Gryffindor himself!" Gryffindor. Oliver remembered him from the book. Gryffindor for the Brave. One of the Great Sages all those years ago. Did that automatically put him in Gryffindor?
"Of course not, boy!" Apparently, the Hat could read his thoughts. "One may start a bloodline in Gryffindor, but end in another." Oliver looked at each of the tables as the Hat rambled.
The red emblem over Gryffindor, where he saw Harry sitting with Hermione and Ron.
The yellow emblem over Hufflepuff, with a lot of very kind looking kids sitting under it.
The blue emblem over Ravenclaw, where the kids there looked impatient and some tapped their fingers from where he could see.
And the green emblem over Slytherin, where that silver haired boy from Diagon Alley, Draco Malfoy, was sitting. Oliver hoped he wasn't placed with him.
"Not Slytherin, hm?" The Hat inquired. "You are very much the Pure Hearted One. Then you best be placed in... HUFFLEPUFF!" The Hall erupted in cheers, and the tall witch gave him a small shove towards the yellow table, where he was greeted with smiling faces and pats on the back as Ether climbed onto the stool.
"Ah! Yet another with blood from the otherworld!" The Hat murmured into her ear as it was set down. "But you were born and raised in that world! And what coincidence who your great grandmother is, young Esther Ravenclaw, when your friend was Oliver Gryffindor. But, do you belong in the world of your ancestors? For, I see Gryffindor traits swirling through you, and yet, I see a thirst to prove yourself. Yes, this decision was made long ago. Best be... RAVENCLAW!" The Hall was once again filled with cheers as Esther was given a small push towards the table with the blue emblem over it, but she was stunned. Not only was she separated from Harry, Hermione, and Ron, she was separated from Oliver!
The ceremony continued, now with the eleven year olds, then dinner was served, yet Oliver couldn't eat anything. He had been expecting to be joined with Esther to continue their journey of taking down the rifts in Ni No Kuni! But, by the sounds of what he could hear, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff were two very different houses.
After dinner, two other fifteen year olds, whom called themselves prefects, led Oliver and the rest of Hufflepuff down by the kitchens, towards a stack of large barrels in a nook on the right hand side of the kitchen corridor. The prefect tapped the barrel that was second from the bottom in the middle of the second row in a strange rhythm, and the lid swung open revealing a secret tunnel!
"We are the only house at Hogwarts that also has a repelling device for would-be intruders. If the wrong lid is tapped, or if the rhythm of the tapping is wrong, which by the way is the rhythm of Helga Hufflepuff, the illegal entrant is doused in vinegar." The prefect, a girl called Gabriel Truman, explained to them, before climbing into the barrel.
Oliver crawled in with the rest of the Hufflepuffs went down in the tunnel and out into a cozy looking room. It was round and earthy and low-ceilinged; from the small, circular windows, the sun show through and gave a lovely view of rippling grass and dandelions. There was a crackling fire before a comfortable looking living area, and lots of burnished copper about the place, and many plants, which either hung from the ceiling or sat on the windowsills. There were overstuffed sofas and chairs that were upholstered in yellow and black, round doors that were along the walls. There was also a plump looking woman with a funny sort of hat that reminded Oliver of a pumpkin stem, holding a tray of cookies.
"Welcome, students!" She said in a kind voice. "I am Professor Sprout, the head of Hufflepuff house! Welcome to Hogwarts, and welcome back to those returning! Please, please sit! I have a few announcements to make, and then a special ceremony only we go through!"
HPOM
"Ravenclaw, follow me, hurry up!" Esther hurried after the younger student, looking around the school in amazement. Never, in all her life, had she seen a school created for magic. She suddenly felt someone tap her shoulder, and turned around to face a girl with black hair and brown eyes.
"You have to keep up with the rest of us." She said in a Scottish accent, then she held out her hand as they walked. "Hi, I'm Cho. Cho Chang." Esther shook her hand, smiling.
"I'm Esther. Esther Sage." Cho nodded.
"I know. I heard Professor McGonagall call your name. Welcome to Ravenclaw." Esther nodded.
"Thank you." That was when they reached a door, with a raven door knocker.
"First years, this door knocker is the way into the common room. We have the absolute most perfect way of keeping non Ravenclaws. This door knocker, speaks a riddle to each person who steps up to the door, and if you can't answer the riddle correctly, then you must wait for the next Ravenclaw to come up and try to figure it out." That was when the door knocker spoke.
"What has eighty eight teeth, but never brushes them?" The prefect smiled and looked out into the crowd of kids.
"Anybody have any ideas?" Esther thought for a few minutes. Eighty eight teeth, but never brushes them...
"A piano!" She suddenly shouted. "Its a piano! There are eighty eight teeth, but the piano has no hands, so it can't very well brush them!"
"Correct. Enter, Ravenclaw." The door knocker said, and the crowd clapped for her, making her blush. Maybe going to a school in the other world would be fun!