A/N: I did my best with the Sorting Hat song...


Chapter 7 - Meeting

...

We stopped for the last time inside a large chamber. Our group seemed small compared to the cavernous quality. There were two impressive staircases on either side of the room, lit by flares of fire every so often. This struck me as odd. Why didn't just use electric lights? But before I could consider this more, my eye was drawn to a portrait that hung on the wall. It depicted a young woman, dressed in flowy medieval garb, or at least it looked like it. She wasn't frozen in time from when she sat for the painting though, no. As I watched, she batted her eyelashes and tossed her long tresses of hair about, flirting with a knight who was hanging on the opposite wall.

It's like going to the pictures, I thought.

"Thank you, Ogg," came a voice. I tore my gaze away from the paintings. Dumbledore! He looked as he had the last time I saw him, except he wore elegant blue robes now. The man we had been following, Ogg, gave a short bow and exited up one of the staircases.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," Dumbledore said to us all, smiling. "My name is Professor Dumbledore and I am deputy headmaster here. Very shortly, you will enter into the Great Hall to be Sorted into the houses that will become your home for the next seven years." He paused here. "In each house you will find excellent companions who are of similar character to yourself. They will be a structure for support these next seven years, especially this one, as it is your first. In time, you will also all become examples for younger students." He stopped speaking once more. His eyes swept over us, resting briefly, I thought, on Tom and me. "But enough talk. Let us begin."

The doors behind him opened up to reveal the grandest room, if it could be called that, that had ever been before me. It was like being inside a great medieval cathedral, with long walls and high ceilings all ornately carved with minute detail, except not even Westminster Abbey could compare. Four long tables sat next to each other in rows, with a high table full of staff facing them in the front of the chamber. Behind that were four colored banners. As Dumbledore led us between the innermost two tables (students turned to stare at us), I realized animals had been weaved onto them. A lion, eagle, badger, and snake.

Finally we stopped. I couldn't see myself, but whispers relayed what was in front: a hat upon a simple wooden stool, on the steps that led to the high table. Dumbledore stood next to it, holding a scroll of parchment that reached his feet. (Again, I thought this was strange. Surely a bound booklet would be easier to handle.) He didn't read from it, though. We looked around with confusion; everyone else seemed to be looking toward the hat, and though I could not see it, I heard it.

Welcome, welcome to the school

Where you shall learn the most

Among the most great of fools

But before we commence our wonderful meal

You may wonder what I am,

Uglier than an eel?

I am the Sorting Hat, of course,

About to choose where you shall be,

Shouting loudly until I am hoarse.

I shall peer into your mind and learn who you are

What wishes you hold close

And what fears you hold far.

Gryffindor for those who have few

The most courageous of the lot,

They will see anything through.

The wisest fall into Ravenclaw,

Where the intelligent dwell.

Certainly a house worthy of awe.

Or perhaps good Hufflepuff is your match,

Where steady hearts and patience

Are never difficult to catch.

Last we have Slytherin,

The charming, the quick,

How they preserve themselves,

I know not the trick.

Four houses into which to reside

Which will be yours,

I'll decide!

Don't be afraid to put me on,

For I most of all

Do not wish to be wrong.

The chamber burst into applause. Dumbledore stepped forward.

"When I call your name, come forward to the stool." He cleared his throat. "Ackeray, Matilda!"

A tall girl with braids stepped out of line and sat down. Dumbledore lowered the Sorting Hat onto her head. There was a moment of silence before the Sorting Hat announced,

"RAVENCLAW!"

There was a burst of applause as Matilda hurried to the Ravenclaw table, blushing slightly. Next up was "Adler, Samuel":

"HUFFLEPUFF!" the Sorting Hat shouted. Another ensuing applause.

The line slowly thinned out. It seemed to be balanced between us; no house dominated. Which would be mine? I was completely apathetic about all of them. All of them seemed decent, but I didn't think I really belonged in any of them either. I curled and uncurled my fingers into fists, attempting to hide the action within my robes. I wished I had something to grip onto. Instead, I let myself gaze around the hall again. There seemed to be no ceiling to the place. Above the floating candlesticks was what seemed like the night sky from outside.

"Riddle, Tom!" Dumbledore's voice brought me back down. Tom's turn! I turned around to look at him. I'm not sure what my face showed him, but he briefly met my eyes before moving forward.

"SLYTHERIN!" the Sorting Hat roared. It was the quickest Sorting yet, less than a second. I watched as Tom slid nonchalantly into a seat at the Slytherin table. Now there was nothing more to wait for except my own name:

"Spencer, Evelyn!"

I took a deep breath and walked forward to the stool. From here, I was able to get a sense of how immense the hall was. My eyes grew lost in the mass of faces all staring at me. I closed them to avoid having to return anyone's gaze and felt the soft lowering of the Sorting Hat onto my head.

"Well let's see," a voice said from within. At once, I froze and my eyes flew open. No one but Dumbledore was up next to me. Where had the voice come from? The Sorting Hat seemed to be speaking to me, but he sounded much more internal...not so much like he was talking but more that I was hearing something in my own head that wasn't my own thoughts. My hands felt the wooden seat. I felt a little comforted by the touch.

The voice came again, this time a chuckle. "A little jumpy, aren't we? Perhaps naturally cautious, eh? Hm...oh."

I stopped breathing.

"How interesting," the Sorting Hat murmured. "You definitely have great desire. How badly...?" He fell silent, as if he were thinking. I stiffened. I didn't like this. It felt like he was peeling back parts of my mind, digging into the dark depths that I revealed to no one.

"With that, then, it's obvious," the Sorting Hat said at last. "Yes, it's clear...SLYTHERIN!"

There was a what sounded like a thunder clap of applause. Dumbledore whisked the Sorting Hat and joined in. I glanced up at him and he nodded approvingly. My mind wasn't able to register much, except to try to find Tom. We didn't exchange words when I sat next to him, but when I looked forward to watch the remaining of the Sorting, I felt like a weight had been released from inside of me.

The Sorting was much more enjoyable now that I had gone through it. I took special note of the students who were joining Slytherin but paid attention to the others as well. They were to be my classmates, after all. As the last student went to Gryffindor (Ignatius Prewett), there was another round of applause. Dumbledore took his seat as an old man approached the podium.

"Welcome to Hogwarts!" he said. "Before we begin our meal, a few announcements..."

"Who's that?" I whispered to Tom. He shrugged his shoulders.

"Armando Dippet," another student answered, sitting across from Tom and I. "Headmaster."

"...Quidditch try-outs are to be held in the coming weeks, for those in their second year or above. See to your respective captains for specific trials for each team."

Dippet then folded his hands and looked solemn. "Some in this hall might be aware that the Muggle world has been in turmoil as of late. I would highly advise limiting correspondence to anyone you might know on the Continent. A Herr Hitler has grown quite the politician and runs a tight ship. The Ministry of Magic believes that he may be working under the authority of a Dark wizard by the name of Grindlewad. Any mail to Germany I'm sure is to be intercepted. For the safety of your privacy and birds, it would be wise to hold off for now your letters there."

I remembered hearing about Hitler at Wool's. It seemed everyday he was on the front of the newspaper. Mrs. Cole always looked bothered when she read about him.

"...In the mean time, we will attempt to pursue our regularly-scheduled academic year. And that of course begins with our meal. Enjoy!"

He sat down and as he did, the golden plates in front of us suddenly were filled with rich, succulent foods of a kinds. Mince pies, roast pork, soups, venison, and more were all along the table. Mouth watering, I helped myself to a full plate. Even a single spoonful of potatoes was finer than I had ever received at Wool's. When we had eaten our fill, desserts replaced the main courses. I was stuffed but managed a slice of pound cake. All around us, people were talking excitedly about the return to school. Even many timid first-years were opening up. Now that I had eaten, though, I just wanted to sleep. Had I really been back at Wool's that same day?

People were moving. A flurry of motion, everyone seemed to be leaving now. Once again, I heard someone calling, "First years, first years!" I looked and saw someone from the Slytherin table. It was a girl with curly hair. "All first years here? Let's go." In a brisk march, she led us out back into the foyer, past the staircases, and into another large atrium.

"I'm Maia Sanders," the girl introduced herself. "Slytherin prefect. There are a couple of us; you'll see them 'round. They've all got a badge on their robes as identifiers. Notice the stairs?" She pointed as an enormous set detached itself from the landing, slowly swiveled, and locked into another across the hall. "Lot of them move around during the day. They've all got patterns that you'll want to learn."

We were walking very fast, while at the same time trying to absorb all the new sights. A pearly, translucent image floated past us, leaving the better part of us speechless. "Maia—is that—" one student stammered.

She turned around carelessly, saw what we were looking at, and then faced front again. "Oh yeah, that's a ghost. Plenty of those about. Don't worry, they're harmless. All the houses have a house ghost that lives near the common rooms. Ours is the Bloody Baron. He looks a fright, but he'll leave you well enough alone.

"Now, this here is the Viaduct Entrance. Leads to the dungeons. All the potions classrooms are down here, and so is the way to our Common Room." Maia walked through an archway and carried on down a long, spiral staircase. It was quite narrow, taking several minutes for the lot of us to make it down. It was noticeably colder here. When Maia counted the last one of us, she said cheerfully, "Not much further!"

I couldn't see how she could be right. At the end of the long corridor, all I could see was a decidedly solid-looking stone wall, illuminated by torches that emitted a greenish fire. "Entrance to the Slytherin Common Room," Maia announced, though. "Requires a password to get in, so you all ready to remember it? Changes every two weeks and is posted on the bulletin board inside. But for now, it's this: ad honorem."

The stone wall melted away to reveal a large space within. Long windows paneled the entire room around and stretched to the ceiling, ornately decorated with careful filigree. A huge fire was being kept on the right, and as soon as we walked in the chill from the hall disappeared. In front of the grand hearth were a few leather couches. Directly across from where we stood now were two corridors, on either side of the room. I realized that the door we had just passed through was under a landing. Two staircases on either side led up to it, where a huge portrait of a dark-haired man was hanging. The stairs opened up to a balcony that spanned the entire room, bookshelves all along the walls of the second floor. There were tables, chairs, and couches up there too. I peered around the place. It was like a lens of some kind had been placed over my eyes: everything seemed to be tinged with green.

"Right." Maia clapped her hands once together briskly. "You kids are probably worn out. Girls, your dorms are on the left; boys on the right. Any trouble during the night, girls find me and boys look for one of the prefects in your dorm. They'll introduce themselves when you get in."

I didn't want to separate from Tom, but it looked like it was to be inevitable. "See you in the morning?" I asked.

"Yeah," he said distractedly. He was gazing around the common room, transfixed. I left before I got stranded without the rest of the girls.

Maia had directed us down another hall. The first door we came to was labeled First Years, followed by a short list of surnames. I scanned it quickly and found Spencer among the names. With held breath, I opened the door to find four other girls inside already.

The room was circular in shape. Four beds were spaced along the wall. There were windows here too, but it was so dark I couldn't see through them. A singular, small chandelier hung from the ceiling, over a warmer that was not dissimilar to ones I had seen at Wool's.

"Hey! Finally, you're here!" one of them cried. She was very tan, with short but straggly brown hair. "I'm Rachel Braithmore. This here's Emma Ramley—" Rachel pointed at a girl dressed in fine robes and a clear face, "—and Diana Hunter." My eyes fell upon the final person and I realized it was the one from before who had strawberry-blonde hair. She seemed to recognize me too, since she gave me a small smile. "What's your name?"

"Evelyn," I said.

"That's your trunk there, right? You're sleeping there, then."

The bed was wondrously large, a four poster with heavy green velvet curtains. I knelt down and unlocked my case, searching for my pajamas. I could still smell the dryness of the orphanage as I pulled them on. The other girls wanted to talk, though, before going to sleep.

Apparently all of them had known they were magic before getting their letters. Emma in particular came from a long line of witches and wizards, with an old history. Diana and Rachel both had one magic parent and one Muggle parent.

"What about you, Evelyn?" Rachel asked.

"I...I don't know," I admitted. "My parents both died before I knew them. I grew up in an orphanage."

They all gasped. "Oh, how awful," Emma said. "So you didn't know you were a witch at all?"

I shook my head. "Not until Professor Dumbledore told me."

"Do you wish you had known before?" Rachel wondered.

"I would, having to live eleven years without magic," Emma added.

"I didn't care," I said. "I was perfectly happy believing I was normal." I remembered again my now unlikely dreams and couldn't prevent a note of bitterness. I quickly looked away from the others.

"Well, why do you think we're in Slytherin?" Rachel asked. "I'm always good at getting my way, so I think that's why for me."

"My family has mostly been in Slytherin," Emma said. "Although neither of my parents were, actually, but my grandparents and aunt and two cousins were."

"I'm ambitious," Diana said proudly. "I'm going to be an Auror when I grow up."

"What's that?" I asked.

"They're kind of like the police for wizards," Emma explained. "They go after people who practice the Dark Arts and put them in jail."

Dark Arts. That didn't sound nice. "I think I'll go to bed," I said slowly.

"But wait, we don't know why you're here!" Rachel protested.

I paused. From what the Sorting Hat had said, I didn't think any of them matched with me. And as far as I knew, none of my family had a legacy of sorts, like Emma. "I don't know," I said. "I don't know."


A/N: Reviews make me happy :)