Early Update! Yay for you guys! I'm leaving for Utah on Wednesday so I decided to update early, as I wouldn't be able to do it on the usual date.
And you know what's sucky? Starting chapter 14 and then having your computer crash on you, making you lose all of your progress. Granted, it was only a couple of pages, but there's nothing I hate more that having to re-write what I've already written. It's torture for me.
Anyway, let me know how you liked this chapter in the reviews! Hope everyone's in character and stuff. Also hope it wasn't too long... I considered breaking this chapter into two parts but then the second one would be too short. Alright, I'll stop typing now and let y'all read. Remember to review!
Chapter 7: Sorted
Mabel was shaken awake. She squinted her eyes opened and saw an annoyed fat man standing above her, "Why are you sleeping on my sofa?"
Mabel scrambled off the sofa and tried to string her words into a coherent excuse, "I, um… well, you see… I was tired, a-and the sofa… it was—"
The man shook his head disapprovingly, "First night, and students are already breaking into their professor's rooms."
"But I didn't—!"
"Come on now, which house are you? I think some docked points are in order."
"Professor Slughorn!"
Professor Slughorn turned around and saw McGonagall standing at the doorway. He smiled warmly, "Oh! Good morning Professor McGonagall! Can you believe it? First night and students are already escaping their beds! It's impressive, but I still need to—"
"I put her here."
"…what?"
"Are you deaf? I put her here."
"Well, of course I'm not deaf. I am just surprised that—"
"She is yet to be sorted."
"She is yet to be… oh!" dawning set in his features, "This is… oh my! I am so sorry. You are Mabel Pines?"
McGonagall took Mabel's hand, "Good day Professor."
"Would you like to come to my party? Just something to consider."
"Good day."
The Professor led Mabel out of the room quickly after that. She glanced back curiously, "Who was that?"
"Professor Slughorn, the potions master. He hasn't taught students in quite a while."
"Huh," she looked back a while longer before shrugging, "What are we doing today? Can I get my luggage? Do you have sprinkles? I need to feed my pig Waddles. Why do the pictures move? Am I gonna' meet other students? When will I—"
"To answer your questions in order, you will be sorted, yes, no, I will see to it, magic, and yes."
"What's sorted?"
"You will see."
"Dipper tried to explain it to me, but I wasn't really listening," her eyebrows creased, "He was really excited to go here, you know." Her upbeat skipping slowed, "He's a big nerd like that. He always gets really excited about school. He would've been really smart." Mabel felt McGonagall's grip tighten.
Mabel wondered what Dipper was doing right now. The Dark Lord guy said to go meet this Draco person. Maybe he would be able to contact the snake dude?
Mabel's smile return and she continued skipping. Dipper would be fine because she will complete her mission. She'll have help from Draco and stuff. "Don't worry. My bro-bro is tough. He's like, really cool. He'll be back before we know it! ...Don't tell him I said that."
"Of course."
They walked a different path this time, a path that didn't lead to Dumbledore's cool office. Mabel didn't question it though. Professor McGonagall probably knew her way around here way better than Mabel did.
At last, the Professor and twin reached a pair of doors with delicious smells coming from behind. "You will be sorted in front of the entire school this morning."
She smiled, "Ooh! So I get to meet everybody?"
"Yes, you can say that." She opened the door and walked in. Mabel took a deep breath and followed. But that breath didn't stay in her body for long. For as soon as she stepped inside, her breath was swept away.
Hundreds of students sat around tables full of delicious breakfast foods. Brilliant, vibrant banners hung on the stone walls like flags. Glowing candles floated above people's heads (it was a wonder no wax dripped in their hair). And the ceiling… oh, the ceiling.
It shone with the colors of early morning. The clouds were so fluffy and the colors were so real Mabel almost thought the room had no roof. It was beautiful.
At first, nobody noticed them. They were all too busy eating their food. When the delicious aromas hit her nostrils, she suddenly realized how hungry she was. Mabel's stomach growled loudly.
McGonagall glanced down at her before setting her eyes forward again. Through some sort of magic that could only be telekinesis, Dumbledore glanced up from his food and met the professor's gaze. He stood up and walked to the podium, pointing his wand to his throat.
"Attention! Attention everyone!"
Mabel jumped at the loud booming voice that echoed through the cavernous room. She was surprised an old man like him could talk so loud. The students, however, only looked up from their meals in mild interest.
Once the hall was properly silenced, Dumbledore continued, "As you all know, two students were unfortunately absent during the sorting. Luckily, we were able to recover one of them and bring her here. Please try to make her feel welcome and comfortable in our school. Mabel Pines, will you please come up here?"
All eyes turned backward and rested on Mabel and McGonagall. The professor took her hand and led Mabel all the way up to the podium where a stool was resting. On top of the stool sat on old, black hat.
McGonagall removed the hat and motioned for Mabel to sit on the stool. Mabel grinned, "Old creepy hat that smells like mildew? Count me in!"
A few students snickered as she rushed to the stool. Once she was seated, the hat was dropped on her head. The rim covered her ears and eyes, muffling any sound coming from the hall. She was in complete darkness.
"Hmm, what do we have here?"
Mabel cocked her head in surprise. She heard it in her head, but it wasn't a voice she recognized. 'Who said that?' she wondered.
"I did. I am the Sorting Hat."
'Cool! Talking hat! So what are you supposed to do?'
"I am supposed to sort you into your house based on who you are. You are the first student to be sorted late, you know."
'I'm the first in a lot of things,' she grinned.
The hat chuckled, "Indeed. Now let's see what exactly is inside your head, hmm?"
"….not Ravenclaw. You are not much of an intellect. You would much rather play than learn. Definitely not Slytherin. You can be cunning and ambitious if needed, but those moments are more spontaneous than consistent."
Mabel had absolutely no idea what it was talking about, but decided to take it as a compliment. 'Thank you.'
The sorting hat ignored her, "Incredibly brave. You are willing to sacrifice yourself for others. You speak your mind and can be a bit stubborn… and incredibly reckless. A clear Gryffindor. But you are kind. And loyal. You make work fun and like to see people smile. The sacrifices you make are made out of love. A Hufflepuff."
Mabel smiled proudly, agreeing with every word.
"But…" Mabel's smile fell, "Sometimes you let your own needs and wants overpower others. You act without thinking of the consequences. You have been trying to get better, but when you get excited these negative traits show through."
Mabel crossed her arms and huffed. 'If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all.'
He laughed, "Gryffindor! That was your Gryffindor side right there. Yet you are so much like a Hufflepuff. Kind yet brave. Loyal and trusting. My dear, which would you prefer?"
Mabel still had no idea what was going on, but she was pretty sure he was asking who Mabel wanted to be with. She bit her lip and tried to think. Then a thought popped in her head.
'Which house is Gary Potter in?'
"Don't you mean Harry Potter? Why, he's in Gryffindor. But I don't see how that—"
'I want to be sorted into Gryffindor.'
"…It hardly seems appropriate to sort you into a house based on a celebrity. I think you would fit in nicely with the Hufflepuffs…"
'Nope,' she thought happily, 'I think I'll be the best as a Gryffindor.'
"Just because of Harry Potter?"
'Pfft, I'm not that shallow. Gryffindor is kind, right? I want to be with nice people."
"Hufflepuff is kind. Gryffindor is brave."
'Whoops. Did I say kind? I meant brave. I want to be with brave people. I mean, who wouldn't, right?" she laughed nervously and tried to smile.
"…Gryffindor does suit you well. This I cannot deny. But are you sure this is what you want?" he asked carefully, emphasizing the 'you.'
'Do pigs fly?'
"No, they do not."
'Then yes! I am sure! As sure as you are sure of pigs not being able to fly!'
"If that is what you want then. It will have to be…"
"GRYFFINDOR!"
A cheer rose from the red table, which Mabel assumed to be hers. The hat was plucked from her head and she flew down the steps toward the red table. She sat between two random students. She turned to the one on the right, "Hi! The name's Mabel! Nice to meet you!"
The student nodded nervously and shook hands, "My name's Neville."
Dumbledore pointed his wand at his throat again, "Thank you for your patience. I shall offer three words for knowledge: wenis, xiphoid, and watch out for gardyloos. Now please continue with your meals."
If Mabel was listening, she would have heard an unsatisfied grumble circulate through the hall. But she wasn't listening. She was staring at the food.
There was so much of it! And it all looked delicious! Pancakes, waffles, eggs, toast, muffins, biscuits, things she couldn't even name… it was awesome! She hadn't eaten since late morning yesterday. Since then she has had a single butterbeer and a candy bar from her robe. She was starving.
The young student dished up as much as her plate could hold, and then some. After her plate was properly overfilled, she then proceeded to inhale her food.
At some point it occurred that if she didn't stop soon she might blow up. So Mabel forced herself to stop and push her plate away. She wasn't feeling the effects of overeating yet, but she knew that she will get a massive tummy ache later.
'Still better than exploding,' she thought absentmindedly.
Mabel glanced at her side and saw Neville staring at her, completely bug-eyed. She raised her eyebrows, "What?"
Neville blushed and looked away, "N-nothing, nothing. It's just… I never saw a girl eat so fast before."
Mabel laughed, "Ha! That was nothing! I eat sugar straight out of the box!"
Breakfast eventually came to an end, and students began to file out. They all had nice books and bags, while Mabel only had some wrinkled robes she slept in overnight. She didn't even know where her luggage was, which was a bummer because she really wanted to see Waddles.
With no place to go to and no instruction, Mabel Pines experimented with the food on the table, trying to create the perfect Mabel Food. She gathered all sorts of strange, magical things and mashed them into a soup bowl she found on the table. Despite the strangeness though, it didn't quite meet her standards. She had no glitter, sprinkles, or plastic dinosaurs. But she just had to do her best with what she had.
But before she could even get to the fourth ingredient, someone put a hand on her shoulder. Mabel glanced up from her creation to see Professor McGonagall staring sternly at her, "What are you doing?"
"Using my ultra-creative mind to make—buh du du dah!—Mabel Food," she presented proudly, "I've got no idea what I put in it but it's swirling on its own so it must be good."
The old Professor sighed, "I would've thought that you'd be too old for playing with your food. Clean your mess and come with me. Professor Dumbledore would like to talk to you before we give you your schedule."
After they cleaned her "mess" (aka masterpiece) McGonagall led Mabel out of the room and down through—this time—familiar halls.
They reached the statue once again and climbed the staircase. Before she knew it Mabel Pines found herself seated in front of the school principal. Mabel found this funny, because in any other school in any other circumstance, it'd be absolutely terrible (and maybe even impossible) to have a need to meet with the principal on your first day of school.
Dumbledore laced his fingers and rested them on his desk, "So Mabel, may you please tell us your story now?"
Mabel nodded and retold her lie once again. She found it easier to lie to a stranger rather than her family. She told him how they were walking to the train when she saw a bright flash. When she woke up Dipper was gone.
Nice, quick, and simple. She told lies before, but usually they were far-fetched and elaborate. Mabel was glad she made this one simple. She would probably mess up if it was long.
Dumbledore listened through her rather short story. He unlaced his hands and put them in his robes. But as he did so Mabel noticed one of them was all shriveled up and a gross, black color. She recoiled slightly, but otherwise didn't say anything. Age did weird things to the body.
"You remember nothing else?" he asked.
"Nope! Not a thing!" Mabel replied, almost too cheerfully. "Nada, zilch, zero, nothing. Completely, 100% blank through and through! Nothing but blank, blank, blank."
"Absolutely nothing else at all?" he asked again.
"Absolutely nothing else," she assured.
Dumbledore leaned back in his seat and hawed. "Unusual… very unusual… and a bit peculiar."
McGonagall placed her hands on Mabel's shoulders, "Professor Dumbledore," she said sternly, "This young lady needs to get to her first class. She is already late."
Dumbledore waved them aside in an almost stressful manner, "Go along then. We mustn't have her late for her classes. Not with her missing a year at least."
After exiting the office, McGonagall led her down the hallways once again. "Since you have missed a year, we have much work to make up for. You will be rushing through the First Year to catch up to the Second Year. I hope you're a fast learner."
"Huh? Did you say something?" Mabel asked, who was too busy watching a moving plant to pay attention.
McGonagall huffed in annoyance, "I suppose I should also tell you about House Points."
"House Points?"
"Yes, House Points. You earn them and lose them together as a house. For example, if a student from Gryffindor behaved well or answered a question correctly, their House will receive a certain amount of points. But if they were to misbehave, by sneaking out after hours or not paying attention—" Mabel shrugged sheepishly. McGonagall shook her head in exasperation, "—they will lose points. It is a team effort. The House with the most points wins."
"Well, luckily for me I am just way adorable," she waved the empty sleeves of her robes up and down, "Nobody can look at this face and take away points. Plus I'm super well behaved."
Professor McGonagall stopped and looked down at her with such a deadpan look Mabel almost thought that she'd die right then and there. Without changing face, she turned toward the hall and continued with her leading, "We shall see."
Mabel tugged at the sweater under her robes. For some reason, she suddenly felt really hot and sweaty.
McGonagall gave Mabel her school supplies that she had retrieved from the luggage and a schedule. Mabel still had no idea where Flappers and Waddles were, but she made it her first priority to find them after all her classes.
The first class was actually taught by Professor McGonagall herself. She transformed herself from a human to a cat and then back again, amazing all the students. Mabel clapped politely, but she'd already seen an actual Shapeshifter in action so overall she wasn't that wowed.
Professor McGonagall handed out matches and told them they had to change it into needles. Mabel tried a few times but totally failed. She tried looking around at the other students for some cheat—err, advice, but Mabel was sitting way in the back alone because she was the last one to arrive.
Mabel tried once again, waving her wand and shouting the incantation. But nothing happened.
'C'mon Mabel,' the twin thought, 'If you can't make a needle, how are you supposed to fix a magic cabinet?'
So the young student tried once again, but in a different way this time. She studied the match long and hard. She noticed how it wasn't too different from a needle. They were both straight, long, small, and had one round end. Sure, there were differences, but she just skimmed over those parts.
The next step was imagining. Mabel had always been an imaginative child, so this part was easy. She simply just looked at the match and saw it was a needle instead. She ignored what reality told her was real and made up her own.
Finally, Mabel waved her wand and shouted the incantation. When she opened her eyes there sat a wooden needle. An excited squeal erupted, "Woah! Did you see that? It's a needle now! Oh wow, I made a needle!"
Her classmates looked back and stared. Most of them looked astonished, but there were a few who stared at their own pointed matches in jealousy, realizing what excitable progress they did amounted to nearly nothing. Gathering students quickly scattered as McGonagall marched down the row, "Let me see that!" She snatched up the needle and stared at it closely. Doubt soon changed in to astonishment. "Merlin's Beard! In all my years of teaching… never had it happened so fast! Ten points to Gryffindor!" she set the needle back in front of Mabel, "Let's see if you can make it metal, hm?"
But for the rest of the class, Mabel could not make the wooden needle metal. Though it did become glossy.
Her next class was Charms. Mabel actually liked that class a lot. It was taught by a short man with a squeaky voice. He was so small he had to stand on books to reach his desk! Mabel almost mistook him for a really tall gnome at first, but he assured her that he was very human when she asked about it. In the class they had to levitate feathers. Mabel mastered that one pretty quickly too. After all, feathers were meant for flying. It wasn't that hard to imagine.
After that was Potions. It was taught by the fat man that woke her up that morning. The only thing she paid attention to was the fact that his name was Slughorn. She was really starting to like wizards. They had such funny names.
Then there was History of Magic, which was surprisingly taught by a ghost. At first Mabel thought it'd be all fun times and floating, but as the class droned on she realized it was exactly the… opposite. The rumor was that the ghost didn't even know he was dead. Most of the kids in her class fell asleep, but Mabel made herself useful by tearing out textbook pages and making paper hats.
The Defense against the Dark Arts was next. It was taught by a really greasy, gross man named Snape. He was a really big jerk and played total favorites. She lost twenty-five points in that darned class. It wasn't her fault she didn't know the incantation of a Shield Charm, or lost her quill, or didn't take notes….
Though, in its defense, it was one of the only classes where she didn't fall asleep in. There was too much gushy drama to pay attention to for that. After that was lunch. Nothing happened there except Mabel learned that the food appeared magically IN FRONT OF YOUR FACE. But other than that it was cool.
Then there was Astronomy taught by this really cute shirtless Professor. Or… at least, Mabel thought he was cute, until he stepped out from behind his desk and revealed his lower horse-half. Didn't matter how hot he was, she was done with magical horses thank you very much.
And finally, the last class. Something called Herbology. When she first heard of it, Mabel thought it would be about cooking and herbs, but then it turned out to be about planting and… well, plants. Which was fine by her. Mabel didn't mind getting a little dirty every now and then.
When the girl realized that school was finally over, she flew outside the greenhouse and into her school. She learned that Waddles was waiting for her in her bed. She ran into her dormitory and wrapped her beloved pig in a giant bear-hug. "WADDLES! Oh my gosh I have so much to tell you! Today was exhausting! There were so many classes! And there was this really mean guy named Snape who was being a total poop-head to me. So how was your day? Did you have any fun? Where were you?"
And on and on the excited girl prattled. With no one else to talk to, and her dormitory being completely empty, Waddles was her only output for her social energy. Which was okay. Mabel spent a lot of time with her pig anyway. Her excited chatter filled the room and almost carried down the hall. Unfortunately, not everybody was having a good as time as Mabel.
Dipper stood with his wand out in front of him. He chanted the incantation and waved his wand once more, only to be rewarded with a few measly sparks. He winced.
"You stupid boy! How can you serve the Dark Lord if you can't even perform the simplest of spells?" the man behind him screamed. Dipper was shoved forward to the ground. Wheezy laughter sounded from beside him, where two stocky death eaters had gathered to watch Dipper's failures.
The man shook his head and spat at him, "Of course, what else can I expect from mudblood scum like you, eh? Don't know why the master is even bothering with the likes of you."
Dipper glared and got up, not ready to give in yet. He yelled the spell again, and came up with the same result.
The man sneered, "Pathetic. You'll never amount to anything. You hear? You will become nothing."
Dipper grit his teeth and tried again, determined to get it right. He screamed the spell. He screamed so loud his voice cracked. Still, nothing.
"The little mudblood isn't even holding his wand right!" chortled the death eater from the sidelines. "Are you holding a weapon or a quill?"
The two burst into loud, wheezy laughter. They laughed so hard they nearly doubled over. The wizard behind him huffed in annoyance. Dipper felt heat rise to his cheeks. "This is my first day, so back off!"
The wizard grabbed Dipper's hair and yanked him around to face him. He was breathing heavily into Dipper's face. "What did I say about speaking!?" Dipper didn't answer. Though the man was still grabbing his hair and it hurt, Dipper didn't lessen his defiant glare. He shook him, "What did I say!?" When he still didn't answer, the man sighed and dropped him. "This lad's got fire in him, that's for sure."
"What'd you suppose we should do with him?" they asked.
He considered this for a moment. And then with a sly smile he replied, "I know exactly what to do."
He grabbed Dipper by his robe's hood and dragged him away. A strangled yelp escaped his lips as he struggled. "H-hey! Put me down! I… I still need to finish training!"
His protests went unheard by the wizard. The two disappeared through the doorway, with the two curious, stocky death eaters trailing close behind.
"Giving into one's dark side never accomplishes anything."
- Jiminy Cricket
