Chapter 6 – Here's Hogwarts
Stepping of the train, Halios, Seren, Neville and Hermione looks around them at the mass of students on the platform. Suddenly they heard a voice.
"FIRST YEARS O'ER 'ERE! ALL FIRST YEARS, GATHER 'ROUND ME!"
Seeing a giant man with a lantern, they slowly makes their way over towards him. As they get closer, they see more first year students congregate around the man. Soon, the only ones left on the platform are the first years and the man.
Looking at the group in front of him, the giant man smiled. "Right, everyone 'ere? Good. I am Rubeus Hagrid, grounds-keeper and Keeper of the Keys of Hogwarts. Now, if you follow me, we'll be taking the traditional route all first year students take."
With that, Hagrid turns around and leads them down a path towards the lake. Following behind him was the students, most of them were stumbling slightly on the path, as the only light they had came from the moon and Hagrids lantern. Halios had cast a Nights Eye spell, giving her night vision, and were helping her three friends along, so that they wouldn't fall. After a while, Hagrid turned towards the first years. "In a moment, we'll be able to see Hogwarts on the other side of the lake, and I'll tell ye, it's a sight to see."
A few moments later, they turned left and came to a small pier, with several small boats docked next to it. Across the lake, they could see Hogwarts castle rise above the lake, its many illuminated windows reflecting on the still surface of the lake. The moon was sitting right behind the middle tower of Hogwarts, giving the entire scene a truly magical setting. The children were stunned to silence by the sight.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" Hagrid says, smiling. "Now, get in the boats, no more than four in each, and be careful. While the giant Squid would most likely save you if you were to fall in, it still wouldn't be a pleasant experience."
Halios and Seren got into a boat together with Neville and Hermione, though Neville seemed a bit nervous about the whole thing. Once everyone had gotten a seat, Hagrid took a boat for his own and once he had made sure everyone was accounted for, he pulled out a pink umbrella, tapped the boat he was sitting in with it, and shouted; "Forward!"
The boats slowly moved forward, across the lake. As they got closer, they could see more details of Hogwarts. Sitting at the bow of the boat, Halios extended her senses across the lake, towards the castle. The closer they got, the stronger she could feel the magic that the place held. As she retracted her senses, she could feel something massive moving in the depth of the lake. Looking to the port side, she could see something break the surface of the lake for a brief moment.
Turning back towards the castle, she saw that they were close to a cliff, but as they got closer, Hagrid called out to them to 'watch their heads'. Not long after, they entered a cave with a pier and a flight of stairs leading up to the castle. As soon as they had all disembarked, Hagrid led them up the stairs. At the top were a large wooden gate, and an old woman.
"Here you go, Professor, the first years." Hagrid greeted the woman.
"Thank you, Hagrid." The woman said, giving the gathered children a stern look. "I am Professor McGonagall, deputy Headmistress, Transfiguration teacher and Head of the Gryffindor house. In a few moments, you all will be sorted into one of the four houses here at Hogwarts. These houses are; Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw, and for as long as you are here at Hogwarts, the house you've been sorted into will be your family. Depending on your actions, your house will gain or loose points during the course of the year, and the house with the most points at the end of term will be awarded the House Trophy. Now, if you follow me..."
Turning around, Professor McGonagall led them through the doors into a giant entranceway. Addressing the gathered students, McGonagall told them to wait there while she made sure everything was ready for their sorting. As she left, whispers broke out as the students wondered what the sorting would be like. Some believed it would be a test of skills, others guessed that some sort of questionnaire would be used, and the ginger kid said something about battling a troll. Suddenly, someone gave up a terrified scream. Looking around, Halios saw a group of ghosts phase through a nearby wall, talking amongst themselves.
" ...live and let live, as they say. Peeves may be a bit disruptive, but he is still one of us, so..." a rotund ghost in monks robes said to another.
"My dear friar, be that as it may, the only ones Peeves listens to is the Headmaster and the Baron. We need to do something about him!"
The fat ghost is about to answer when he notice the group of children beneath them. Turning towards them, he gives them a bright smile. "Oh, hello. Are you the new students? Welcome to Hogwarts. I hope to see you in Hufflepuff, it's my old house, you know?"
Laughing slightly at the shocked expressions he sees, he gives them a wave, and leaves the room. At that point, Professor McGonagall returns and tells them to follow her. She leads them into a great hall, where the students and staff are sitting at five tables, one for the staff and four for the houses.
In the middle, was a three-legged stool with an old hat lying on it. Once everyone had entered the hall, professor McGonagall told them to wait by the doors before she went up to the stool and the hat. As she reached it, the hat suddenly moved, and split in a way that made it look like it had a mouth. As every pair of eyes in the hall were fixed on it, it 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 at heart,
Their daring, nerve, and chivalry
Set Gryffindors apart;
You might belong in Hufflepuff,
Where they are just and loyal,
Those 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 folks 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!
At the end of the song, the hat did a small bow, and the hall burst out in applauds. Clearing her throat, professor McGonagall pulled out a parchment and addressed the first years.
"Now we come to the sorting. As I read your name, please come up and put on the Sorting Hat." Rolling up the parchment, she began to call out names. First amongst the four new friends to be called was Seren. She went up to the stool, and sat down on it with the Hat on her head. After about one minute, the Hat called out "Ravenclaw!". Taking of the Hat, Seren left it on the tool and went over to the Ravenclaw table, whose students greeted her with applauds. Next up was Hermione. It took the hat about five minutes to announce her house, and to the surprise to Halios, Seren and Neville, who thought she would be in Ravenclaw, the hat placed her in Hufflepuff.
When it became Neville's turn, the Hat placed him in Hufflepuff too, and in his hurry to get over there, he almost forgot to remove the Hat from his head. After a while, it finally became Halios turn. Stepping forward, she walked up to the stool and took the Hat before sitting down and putting it on.
"Hmmm... well this was interesting... you are not human, are you?" A voice said in her head.
Smiling to herself, Halios answered. "No, I'm as close to a god you can come in this realm. And you must be the soul of the Hat I'm wearing, are you not?"
"A god, you say? Interesting... And yes, I am the Sorting Hat. Now, if you don't mind, I have to ask you... What do you mean by 'god'?"
"I'm a Daedra, one of the Princes of Oblivion, the space between worlds. Most Daedra are bound to a single world, but a few can move freely between worlds due to the nature of their divinity. One of those is my Father, Sheogorath, the Daedric Prince of Madness and all that is unknown."
"If that is so, then why are you here?"
"I was born in this world. Before I became Daedra, my name was Harry Potter. My father saw the attack on the Potter family, and was beseeched by my mortal mother to save me. He did, and took me with him to his own realm. Not long after that, magic turned me into a Daedra. My mortal godfather, Sirius Black never stopped searching for me, and a few months ago, he and the Headmaster summoned my mother Meridia, the Daedric Prince of Life, and Lady of Infinite Energies, and proceeded with inviting me here."
"Well, well... Thank you for the information. Now, normally, I would look through your memories to determine which house you belong to, but as you aren't a human, I can't do that. So I have to ask you, which house would you like to be in?"
After thinking for a short while, Halios answered. "Put me in Ravenclaw. One of my friends were put there, while the other two were put in Hufflepuff, so that way none of us has to be alone."
Halios could almost feel the Hat smile at that. "Loyalty fit for a Hufflepuff, and intelligence and logic befitting a Ravenclaw. As you wish. You are hereby placed in..." "RAVENCLAW" The Hat shouted so that everyone could hear. Taking of the Hat, Halios stood up, and after placing the hat back down on the stool, she walked over to the Ravenclaw table and sat down next to Seren.
Once the last student had been sorted, and the stool and Hat had been taken away, the Headmaster stood up and addressed the students.
"Now that everyone has been sorted, it's time to eat. But before that I only has a few things to say. Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Thank you!"
And with that he sat down and the tables was filled with all kinds of food. Halios took something of almost everything she could reach, and chatted happily with Seren while they ate. After the main meal, the dessert came, and Halios tried a bit of everything, but nothing really stood out as a favourite. Once the last of the food had disappeared, Dumbledore stood up once again and spoke.
"Now that we have been fed and watered, I have a few things to say before letting you go. First, the Forbidden Forest is just that, forbidden, and no student is allowed inside unless they are with a teacher. Secondly, another ten items have been added to the list of items that are forbidden inside of the school. Most of those items are products of Zonko's line of products, and if anyone is interested in the full list, it can be found outside of Mr. Filch office. And lastly, this year the corridor on the third floor is closed to everyone who doesn't wish to die a horrible death."
At that, the entire hall just stared at Dumbledore as if he was crazy. But the Headmaster just smile and told them to follow their house prefects to their respective common-rooms, and that he wished them a good night.
Seren and Halios followed the rest of the Ravenclaw students through the halls of Hogwarts, until they came to a door. The door had no handle or keyhole, but a bronze knocker in the shape of an eagle in the middle of the door. One of the prefects turned towards the students. "This is the entrance to the Ravenclaw Tower. To enter, you'll have to use the knocker, which will then ask you a riddle. Unless you can answer the riddle, you'll have to wait outside until someone comes who can."
The prefect then used the knocker, which gave him a riddle.
If it's information you seek, come and see me.
If it's pairs of letters you need, I have consecutively three.
Who am I?
Turning to the students he asked; "Anyone who wants to take a guess?" After a few moments, Seren spoke up; "A Bookkeeper?"
The knocker nodded and the door opened. The prefect praised Seren, and then ushered them inside. Once everyone was inside, the door closed. Looking around, Halios thought the room looked like a library, but more homely.
The female prefect smiled at them all. "Welcome, to the Ravenclaw common-room. These bookshelves contains a collection of books given to us by former students, and has been charmed so that you can't remove any book that is beyond your current level of education. Now, the dorms are set up so that there will be two students in each room, so pick someone you can stand, as you will be living together for the next seven years."
Halios immediately went over to Seren. "Would you mind sharing a room with me? I can stay in my female form if you want me too."
Seren turned to her. "Sure, since we already know each other, it won't be a problem."
Halios smiled at her. "Thanks... It's good to have a friend."
Their conversation was interrupted by the female prefect. "Has everyone got a room-mate? Good. Now, the boys dorm is up the stairs to the right, and the girls is up the left stairs. And don't worry, the stairs are charmed so that no-one belonging to the opposite gender can ascend either staircase."
Looking at each other, Seren and Halios went up the left stairs and soon found the room they would be sharing. Their belongings were already there, and after they had changed into their nightclothes and taken care of their nightly concerns, they said goodnight to each other and went to sleep.
It took some time, but the chapter is finally finished. Now, as for why I placed Hermione and Neville in Hufflepuff, it's simple. Hermione has never had friends before, so now that she has, I think she would do anything to not loose them (at least, that's what I would do), making her more fit for Hufflepuff than Gryffindor. The same can be said about Neville, as he is more loyal than brave.
I can't say for certain when the next chapter will be out, as I have other things on my mind, but rest assured, this story will NOT be abandoned.
Until next time.
