Chapter Thirteen:
Hagrid swung his lantern jauntily. Ev could tell he was trying to walk as slow as possible, but his legs were so long, the first-years still had to sprint after him to keep up, occasionally tripping on the uneven ground.
"Yeh'll get ter see the school in a moment," Hagrid told them as they stumbled their way down the winding trail. Suddenly, the path opened up. "There yeh go!" There were gasps and someone even shouted, "Wow!"
Ev looked up over the top of Hugo's head to see an enormous black lake stretching out towards them. The other side of the lake rose into a vast mountain side. At the very top rested a real stone castle, complete with turrets and towers, its windows all alight.
"C'mon now, don' wanna be late," said Hagrid, leading them down to the lake. Evan suddenly noticed a fleet of little boats lined up along the shore. "No more'n four," he added, as six girls tried to squeeze into a single boat. The pack of girls turned to each other, obviously trying to pick which two would get thrown out.
Lily led Hugo and Ev down to a free boat and they were soon joined by a pale, bony boy with neat black hair. The boy looked as every bit as uneasy as Ev felt, although Ev wasn't sure if it was about getting into the rickety little boat or starting school. Ev wondered if the boy was Muggle born, too.
Strangely enough, Hagrid reached into his coat and pulled out a ratty, faded pink umbrella. He jabbed the air with it. "Forward!"
Completely without anyone's help, the boats pushed themselves off the shore and into the water. Lily became unbalanced and was thrown forward by the motion. She clutched the side of the boat.
"Whoa," whispered the skinny boy as he too was jostled. They began to glide across the lake, straight towards the cliff on the opposite side.
Ev wondered briefly if they would crash, before noticing that there was an opening along the wall, covered by ivy.
They bent their heads as they passed under it, sailing through a long, dark underground tunnel. Eventually, the boats slowed, skidding out on to a sort of harbor covered in pebbles. Hagrid guided them through a passageway and out onto the grounds, up the front steps and to the door.
Hagrid wrapped on the door and it swung open to reveal another man, one much younger, about the age of Evan's own father. "Hello, Hagrid."
"Hullo, there. The firs' years, Professor Longbottom."
"Right," said Professor Longbottom. Longbottom? What kind of name is Longbottom?
Professor Longbottom turned to the students, smiling kindly at them. Lily and Hugo waved to him. He waved back. "Welcome to Hogwarts! I'm Professor Longbottom, the new Head of Gryffindor House. I'll be teaching all of you in Herbology! Follow me, please."
They followed Longbottom into the vast Entrance Hall. Much like with Diagon Alley, Ev couldn't help but want to get a look at everything, marveling at the light coming only from lit torches and noticing the sweeping marble staircase.
Professor Longbottom led the students into a small side chamber, explaining about the Sorting Ceremony and the four different school Houses. Professor Longbottom left them in the chamber, saying that he would come back when it was time for the sorting to start.
After a few moments of nervous waiting, Professor Longbottom had returned. "Form a neat line and try to keep quiet, please. Follow me!" He sounded eager. "I'll take you to the Great Hall."
He led the first years back out of the little side chamber and over to a grand set of doors. Opening them, a magnificent hall was revealed, long tables- four for students, one for teachers- countless floating candles gave everything a flickering, silvery glow. And there were ghosts! Actual ghosts, pearly white and transparent, were scattered amongst the students. The cutlery seemed to be made out of pure gold! Lily nudged Ev, jutting her chin up, in gesture to the ceiling. Ev's eyes traveled upwards. His jaw dropped. There didn't seem to be a ceiling at all; there was nothing above them except the dark, starry sky.
Finally, they stopped walking a few feet from an old wooden stool. Perched on top of the school was a ragged, patched hat. Ev remembered James once mentioned something getting sorted by wearing a hat. Ev thought that James had been kidding.
Just when Evan didn't think he could be anymore surprised, the hat began to sing.