The Safeworld Network
In this chapter: Morgan gets sorted, gets a pet, and makes some new friends…some of which are quite surprising.
Chapter 8: Hats, Cats, and Arachnids
The doors swung open, and they were met by a tall, severe looking witch in emerald robes, whom Morgan instantly recognised as Professor McGonagall. She lead them to a small, empty chamber of the Hall and, after informing them of the names of the four school houses and explaining about house points and the House Cup, left them to wait till the rest of the school was ready for them.
Morgan wandered over to where Hermione and Neville were standing. The rest of the students were either wondering about how they'd be sorted, or speculating about which house they'd be in. Hermione was in a state of panic, whispering about all the spells she'd learned and wondering which one she would need. Morgan recognised the signs of a severe case of nerves, and left her alone, choosing instead to join Susan Bones and the other kids from her boat, who were discussing houses.
"I'd like to get into Ravenclaw, they're supposed to all be really smart…" Anthony Goldstein was saying.
"I'll probably end up in Hufflepuff," observed Susan dismally. "What about you, Morgan?"
"I dunno. I think I'd like to be a Gryffindor, but I think I'll end up in Ravenclaw… I had a 95.6 average last term… what about you?" Morgan was addressing the final member of the party, a stringy-looking boy who Susan introduced as Theodore Nott. He surprised them all with his answer.
"I think I'm going to be in Slytherin."
"Why?" From what she'd heard, the Slytherins were a nasty lot, but he didn't strike her as the type.
"Everyone in my family was in Slytherin. Parents, grandparents, great-grandparents… It's not like I want to be in Slytherin, but…"
His sentence was cut off by the sudden appearance of several ghosts, and the return of Professor McGonagall, who led them into the Great Hall and up onto the stage in front of the teacher's table, where they halted in a line facing the other students.
McGonagall silently placed a four-legged stool in front of the first years. On top of the stool she put a pointed wizards hat. The hat was patched and frayed and extremely dirty. Everyone in the Hall was now staring at the hat, and, as it was the most interesting thing in the room, she stared at it too.
For a few seconds there was complete silence. Then the hat twitched. A tear near the brim opened wide like a mouth, and the hat began to sing:
Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,
but don't judge on what you see,
I'll eat myself if you can find
a smarter hat than me.
You can keep your bowlers black,
Your top hats sleek and tall,
For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat
And I can cap them all.
There's nothing hidden in your head
The Sorting Hat can't see,
So try me on and I will tell you
Where you ought to be.
You might belong in Gryffindor
Where dwell the brave of heart,
Their daring, nerve, and chivalry
Set Gryffindors apart;
You might belong in Hufflepuff,
Where they are just and loyal,
These patient Hufflepuffs are true
And unafraid of toil;
Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,
If you've a ready mind,
Where those of wit and learning,
Will always find their kind;
Or perhaps in Slytherin
You'll make your real friends,
Those cunning folk use any means
To achieve their ends.
So put me on! Don't be afraid!
And don't get in a flap!
You're in safe hands (though I have none)
For I'm a Thinking Cap!
The whole Hall burst into applause as the hat finished its song. It bowed to each of the four tables and then became quite still again.
Professor McGonagall now stepped forwards holding a long roll of parchment.
"When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted," she said. "Abbot, Hannah!"
A pink-faced girl with blond pigtails stumbled out of line, put on the hat, and sat down. There was a moment's pause, and then-
"HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the hat. The table on the right cheered as Hannah went to sit down with them.
"Bones, Susan!" Morgan gave Susan an encouraging smile and a small shove.
"HUFFLEPUFF!"
Susan scuttled off to sit next to Hannah.
"Boot, Terry!"
"Ravenclaw!"
'Brocklehurst, Mandy,' went to Ravenclaw to, but 'Brown, Lavender,' became the first new Gryffindor. The table on the far left broke out into cheers; Morgan could see the Weasley twins catcalling.
'Bulstrode, Millicent,' then became a Slytherin. Morgan reflected that she was probably stereotyping them, but they looked like an unpleasant lot.
The sorting progressed. Morgan knew that with the last name Ylime she was almost always the last or second last, so she allowed her attention to wander around the Hall.
There were four long tables, one for each house, with one of the four Houses' banners hanging over each. She looked up at the ceiling, and was amazed to see a velvety black sky with twinkling stars looking back at her. She vaguely remembered reading something about that in Hogwarts, a History, and then looked back as she heard a name she recognised.
"Granger, Hermione!" Hermione rushed forward and jammed the hat on her head eagerly.
"GRIFFENDOR!" cried the hat. Morgan watched her as she sat down near the twins' older brother.
"Goldstein, Anthony!" Anthony walked forward slowly, and calmly placed the hat on his head. Morgan crossed her fingers.
"RAVENCLAW!" Anthony took the hat off his head and walked quickly to the Ravenclaw table. Only when he sat down did he send Morgan a wide smile.
Neville went to Gryffindor, and Malfoy, the annoying kid from Kings Cross, to Slytherin. Lillian Moon went to Gryffindor, and then it was Theodore's turn.
He sat down, took a deep breath, and gingerly placed the hat on his head.
"SLYTHERIN!" Theodore winced, and then went to sit down with the Slytherins. Morgan felt sorry for him, especially since he had to sit across from Malfoy.
Now that all her friends had been sorted, Morgan attention began to wander again, but she snapped back to attention at the mention of "Potter, Harry!" Or rather the stir that it created. All around the hall people began to point and whisper as the black haired boy sat down.
The hat took the most time yet to decide, but finally it reached a verdict.
"GRYFFENDOR!" The table on the left exploded with cheers and shouts of "We got Potter! We got Potter!"
Morgan surveyed the tables and, out of sheer boredom, began to count the number of students at each. She had just finished Ravenclaw and was moving on to Hufflepuff when she heard her name.
"Ylime, Morgan!"
She sat down and put on the hat, and was immediately aware of a small voice muttering in her head.
"Intelligent. Yes, very intelligent. Ravenclaw, perhaps? No, there is ambition here to…Slytherin?"
'Not Slytherin,' she thought, 'For once could they put me in a house with people that I might actually like?!'
"Hmmmm…Not Slytherin eh? No, I think not…too generous, too many scruples. Oh well, let's put you in… GRYFFINDOR!"
Morgan sighed with relief, and crossed the Hall to the Gryffindor table. She sat down next to Fred (or was it George?) and looked up as the last student, 'Zabini, Blaise,' was made a Slytherin.
She could see the stage and head table clearly now. Professor McGonagall had cleared away the hat and stool, and Albus Dumbledore had got to his feet. He was beaming at the students, his arms open wide, as if nothing could have pleased him more than to see them all there.
"Welcome!" he said. "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are. Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!"
"Thank you!"
He sat back down. Everyone clapped and cheered. Morgan didn't know whether to laugh or not. She was relieved, then, when Harry asked Percy what they were all thinking.
"Is he-a bit mad?"
"Mad?" said Percy airily. "He's a genius! Best wizard in the world! But he is a bit mad, yes. Potatoes, Harry?"
Morgan looked down at the dishes in front of her. They were now pilled with food. She had never seen so many things she liked to eat on one table. Bacon and steak, roast potatoes, roast beef, roast chicken, pork chops and lamp chops, smoked ham, gravy, ketchup, and for some strange reason, mint humbugs.
Morgan took some of everything except the mints (she hated the taste of mint and avoided it like the plague) and began to eat. It was all delicious.
She ate in silence for a bit, watching a rather amusing conversation between Harry, Ron, Seamus Finnigan, and Sir Nicolas de Mimsy-Porpington, the resident ghost of Gryffindor Tower. After a bit, Sir Nicolas seized his left ear and tugged, and his whole head swung off his neck and fell onto his shoulders as if on a hinge, thus explaining his nickname, Nearly Headless Nick.
When everyone had eaten as much as they could, the remains of the food faded from the plates, leaving them as sparkling clean as before. A moment later, the desserts appeared. Blocks of ice cream in every flavour you could imagine, apple pies, treacle tarts and butter tarts, chocolate éclairs and jam doughnuts, trifle, strawberries, cheesecake, jelly, rice pudding…
Morgan helped herself to trifle and a slice of cheesecake, and the talk turned to their families.
"I'm half and half," said Seamus. "Me dad's a muggle. Mam's a witch. Bit of a nasty shock for him when he found out."
On Morgan's other side Percy and Hermione were discussing lessons. She listened to them for a bit, and then turned to Fred.
"Who's that teacher there with the turban?" she asked, pointing up at a pale-faced man in an absurd purple turban, who was talking to a teacher with greasy black hair, a hooked nose and sallow skin.
"That's Professor Quirrell. He teaches Defence Against the Dark Arts."
"He paranoid," put in George, "Completely paranoid. Scared of the students, scared of his own subject…"
"Great. Just what we need. A paranoid teacher teaching us to defend ourselves. Who's the guy next to him?"
"That's Snape." The disdain in Fred's voice was evident.
"What does he teach?"
"Potions."
"Why don't you like him?"
"Oh, I dunno," said George sarcastically. "Maybe because he's a mean old git who's totally biased toward Slytherins?"
At last the puddings disappeared, and Professor Dumbledore got to his feet. After giving them a few, announcements and a warning to stay away from the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side if they did not "wish to die a very painful death", Dumbledore announced that they would now sing the school song.
"Everyone pick their favourite tune," he said, "And off we go!"
Morgan thought for a minute, and then decided on a tune that, while not necessarily her favourite, was symbolically appropriate nonetheless.
And the school bellowed:
"Hogwarts, Hogwarts,
Hoggy Warty Hogwarts,
Teach us,
something please.
Whether we be old,
And bald,
Or young with scabby knees.
Our heads could do,
With filling,
With some interesting stuff.
For now they're bare and full,
Of air, dead flies, and bits of fluff,
So teach us things worth knowing,
Bring back what we've forgot,
Just do your best we'll do the rest,
And learn until our brains all rot!
Everybody finished the song at different times. At last, only the Weasley twins were left singing along to a very slow funeral march. Dumbledore conducted their last few lines with his wand, and when they had finished, he was one of those who clapped the loudest.
"Ah, music," he said, wiping his eyes. "A magic beyond all that we teach here! And now, bedtime. Off you trot!"
Morgan followed Percy and the other Gryffindor first-years out of the great Hall and up the marble staircase, taking note of the many hidden doors he led them through. After a brief encounter with Peeves, the school poltergeist, they reached the Gryffindor common room. Percy directed them to the girls' and boys' dormitories, and she followed Hermione, Lavender, and Parvati up the stairs, with Lillian trailing behind. At the top of a spiral staircase (Morgan guessed they were in one of the towers) they found their room at last: a large, circular one with four four-posters hung in deep-red velvet curtains. Their bags had been brought up already and placed on the beds. Surprisingly, no one wanted to switch. They changed quickly and fell into bed. Morgan briefly contemplated finishing her potions book, but she was asleep before her head touched the pillow.
Morgan arose at 5:30 am, sort of out of habit, but mostly because she liked to be the first one in the shower. She crept softly to the bathroom (each floor had its own) and shut the door.
The bathroom was, to her surprise, clean and sparkling, and had not one, not two, but five separate showers and five separate sinks, each with its own lockable drawer. Morgan stowed her toothbrush, hairbrush, and elastics in the last one on the right and stepped into a shower.
At 5:45, after she had brushed her teeth, blow-dried her hair (she couldn't wait to cover drying charms), and gotten dressed, she was standing in front of the shower she had used. Staring with some disdain at the stark white shower curtain, she suddenly remembered one of the books she'd bought, Handy Spells for the Fashion-Conscious Witch.
At 5:55 Morgan stood back, satisfied with her handiwork. The blank curtain was now covered in a myriad of green, blue, and yellow dots and squiggles. She left a Post-It on the door, saying that the others could use her book to do the same as long as they were careful with it, left the book on her bed, packed her school bag, and headed downstairs to the common room, looking for something to do.
Her wish was granted in the form of two ginger-haired twins striding towards her.
"Ready?"
"For what?"
"A challenge. You up for it?"
Morgan nodded. Fred pulled out a piece of parchment out of his pocket and handed it off to George, who turned away and muttered something, then handed it to Morgan, who examined it closely. It was a map of some sort, with little dots moving over it. Most of them were congregated in four rooms, but there were a few scattered about the halls. Fred pointed to one.
"That's Filch. And that," he pointed to a slightly smaller dot, "is his cat, Miss Norris. We need to get here," he indicated a room marked 'kitchens', "without getting spotted."
"And," added George, "You're being timed."
Morgan glanced down at the map, then back up at the boys.
"Start the clock."
"Time!" Morgan called as she slapped the counter. George looked down at his stopwatch, and his eyes widened.
"14 minutes and 29 seconds! Fred, she broke the 15 minute barrier!"
Morgan barely heard them, as her attention was immediately captured by a large group of knee-high creatures swarming around her, all asking her what she wanted. On a whim, she said the first thing that popped into her head.
"A cat."
Ten minutes later they were walking out of the kitchens, Fred and George carrying an armload of food each, and Morgan cradling a small black kitten with white paws.
"What were those creatures?" asked Morgan, shaking her head in surprise.
"House elves," replied Fred. "They're dead helpful."
They were back in the common room now. Morgan took her new cat upstairs and, after showing it to all the other girls, found it a suitable home in her now-empty suitcase and headed back downstairs with Hermione and Lillian for breakfast.
Breakfast was almost as grand as dinner the night before. The tables were packed with kids eating, talking, or doing some last-minute reading before their first class. Every few feet there was a dish laden with breakfast food of some sort, from bacon to pancakes to Cheeri-Owls. They grabbed seats between the twins and Harry Potter and sat down to eat.
Halfway through one of the twin's friends, Lee Jordan, brushed past her and sat down next to George. She suddenly felt a tickling sensation on her arm. A few girls around her started to shriek. She looked down at her arm. A huge tarantula was slowly climbing up it.
She suddenly noticed that everyone was watching her intently, trying to gauge her reaction. She surprised them all.
She giggled.
Then she started laughing.
"That tickles!"
Fred and George looked at each other, then at Lee. Lee moved to get up, but Morgan stopped him.
"Nah, leave it. It'll be easier to get off if it's on my shoulder."
When Lee removed the spider a few minutes later, Fred cleared his throat.
"Friends, neighbours, and fellow Gryffindors, we are pleased to present the newest member of the New Marauders, Morgan Ylime!"
Well, how's that for an entrance exam? BTW I got the Cheeri-Owls from the fifth movie, watch closely at the breakfast scenes and you may see them…
Can you guess what tune Morgan picked? I gave you a hint with the way I typed the song…
In the next chapter: The Jedi come! Yay!!!!!!
