Chapter III - The Train and the Hat
For the next month, Hermiony spent all her time memorizing her textbooks. She even tried some simple spells, which to her (and her parents') surprise, worked. She read "Hogwarts, A History" at least five times and found that the most intriguing figures to be Helga Hufflepuff and Rowena Ravenclaw, two of the founders. While much ink was spent describing the battle for supremacy between the heroic Godric Gryffindor and the malevolent Salazar Slytherin, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff were practically ignored. "It's a shame too, thought Hermiony. The book clearly states that they were the most powerful witches of their day." She was not sure that she wanted to be in Hufflepuff House though. The most remarkable wizards came from Ravenclaw and Gryffindor (which was her first choice, because she wanted to be in Professor McGonagall's house.) And she definitely wanted to stay away from Slytherin. Most of the evil wizards she read about came from Slytherin and it seemed like Salazar hated Muggle-born wizard and witches and that was why he left.
There were times she wondered if going to Hogwarts was the right choice. As she read the other books she started to learn more and more about the dark wizards, particularly one called "Lord Voldemort" who so terrorized the wizard world that they could not refer to him by name, only "You Know Who" or "He Whose Name Cannot Be Mentioned". "It's silly to be afraid of a name," Hermiony thought to herself. But each of the books she read about Voldemort said the same three things. He was the most evil wizard ever and he and his followers nearly destroyed centuries of peace and calm in eleven years, he was afraid of the powerful Dumbledore, and a baby named Harry Potter defeated him through a miracle that no one could explain.
Harry Potter intrigued Hermiony. His parents had been killed in the attack and he was sent to live with Muggles far away from the wizard world where no one would find him. He was the boy who lived (the only remnant from the battle was a lightning shaped scar) while the power of the terrible Dark Lord was broken. But what really interested Hermiony was that Harry was her age. Maybe he would start Hogwarts with her and perhaps he could even be the friend she yearned for. After all, they were both magical but raised in a non-magical world.
The day finally arrived when Hermiony's parents took her to King's Crossing. The found Platform Nine and Three-Quarters with relative ease. She loaded her things on the train, got into her robes and bid her parents a tearful goodbye, promising to send them letters via owl. Hermiony scanned the crowd for Harry, then realized she didn't know what he looked like. She did see an older student with dreadlocks and a tarantula. She also saw a redheaded mother with five redheaded children.
A pudgy boy about her age came up to her. "Hi. I'm Neville and I'm new. Have you seen my toad, Trevor?" he said somewhat sheepishly. He looked so pathetic and desperate that Hermiony's heart melted. Forget Harry Potter, if he's even here. This boy needed her help. He had this lonely, little, lost boy look. "I'm Hermiony Granger. I haven't seen your toad. But I'll gladly help you look for him." His face broke into a big smile. They boarded the train. As they walked and talked, she found out that his name was Neville Longbottom (the last name sounded familiar, but she couldn't place it), that he lived with his grandmother, and that he was very nervous.
The first compartment they entered was filled with a bunch of girls. Neville seemed too nervous to speak, so Hermiony spoke up. "I'm Hermiony Granger. This is Neville Longbottom. He's lost his toad. Have you seen it?" The girls started to shriek in laughter. One of them, a short girl with a pug nose spoke up.
"Longbottom, don't you know anything? Toads are better lost."
Neville started to snivel and ran out. Hermiony thought that was quite a rude response, especially since someone had lost a dear pet. "We asked a simple question. You could have given a simple answer."
The girl spoke again. "You say your name is Granger? I don't know any Grangers. Are your parents magical?"
"No, I'm Muggle-born."
"Oh, I get it. You're here to do our laundry."
That was too much. "No. I'm here on my own merits, not because my parents got me in." She stalked out of the compartment, leaving the pug nosed girl with her mouth open in shock and fury.
A boy ran by the two of them and he was shouting something. Hermiony wasn't sure, but she thought he said "Harry Potter's on the train!" Her first instinct was to run after the boy and find out which compartment Harry was in. But she met up with Neville, still sad over his toad, and promised him again that she'd help look. She went into each compartment, but no one saw Trevor. A witch with a snack tray passed by. Hermiony bought Neville a pumpkin pasty to make him feel better.
They went to the next compartment.
"I was already in there," Neville said.
"Well maybe they've seen something since, and besides I want to meet as many people as I can."
She entered the compartment. It was one of the redheaded boys with a dark-haired boy. The compartment was full of treats from the snack tray. "Has anyone seen a toad? Neville's lost one," she said. "We've already told him we haven't seen it," said the redheaded boy, far too rudely for Hermiony. But before she could answer, she noticed that his wand was out and he was about to do a spell. "Oh are you doing magic? Let's see it then."
The boy was taken aback. Clearly he did not expect an audience. He mumbled some silly poem, which was supposed to turn his sleeping pet rat yellow. And, not at all to Hermiony's surprise, the spell was a fake. She let him know that she had successfully performed spells. Just to rub it in for his rudeness. Both the redheaded boy and the dark-haired boy were taken aback. Hermiony introduced herself. The redheaded boy was named Ron Weasley. And the dark-haired boy was "Harry Potter." Hermiony wanted to stare at him and ask him a million questions. But she remembered the screaming boy. Everyone on the train must have gawked at him already and she didn't want to do that. So instead she simply told him about where she read about him. Poor Harry never realized he was in any history books and she regretted not bringing them to show him. There was an awkward pause and Ron blushed. She guessed that he was not in any history books. She decided to break the silence by asking about houses, offering her own opinions and then dashing out to continue helping Neville.
As soon as she left the compartment she gasped for breath, for an instant letting her composure slip a bit. She had met THE Harry Potter and he seemed - well . . . nice, but ordinary. It was the other one, Ron, who attracted her attention. She was not sure if she liked him or hated him. But she felt something. A burning sensation. No matter what her feelings may be, she would always have strong opinions about Ron Weasley.
Hermiony continued to help Neville look for his toad. She met other students. There was a Terry Boots, twins Parvati and Padma Patil, Susannah Bones, she met three boys who were clearly Ron's older brothers. The eldest one, Percy, was a prefect. The other two, Fred and George, were twins in their third year. She was relieved to even meet some Muggle-born students like herself. One was Dean Thomas who was quite tall and quite handsome. Another was a curly haired boy named Justin-Finch-Fletchley, who was down for Eton before he got his acceptance to Hogwarts. He blanched when Hermiony told him that she could do some spells. It secretly pleased her to know that she knew more magic than he did. But the Muggle-born student who stood out most in her mind was an older Ravenclaw girl named Penelope Clearwater. She was intelligent, soft-spoken, and beautiful. "Perhaps Revenclaw is the best house," thought Hermiony. Hermiony asked Penelope about the Sorting Ceremony. Penelope smiled. "I can't tell you. I don't want to spoil the surprise. But don't worry. It's one of those things you'll always remember even after you've forgotten your own name."
With no success, Hermiony and Neville headed toward their compartment. The time was drawing closer and students started to go crazy with anticipation. There was much commotion and getting through was difficult. As they passed Harry and Ron's compartment, Hermiony saw three boys walking out furiously. Two of them looked extremely big and dull. But it was the small one in the middle, a pale boy with flaxen hair that made Hermiony draw back. Her stomach started to turn. There was something about him that she hated, an instant dislike, and that surprised her. Perhaps her mother would call it "woman's intuition." Inside she heard one of the boys say a name, Draco Malfoy. It was an evil name and it could only fit the pale haired boy.
Neville continued on, but Hermiony stopped to listen. It sounded like there had been a fight. Against her better judgment, she went to find out what happened and to see if she could help. But Ron snarled at her. Something about having to put on their school robes. Hermiony left as quickly as she could.
As she walked back to check on her trunk, she stopped for a second. That boy, Ron, hated her. What did she do? Why was she always friendless? By age eleven, shouldn't she have someone to talk to her own age? It seemed like adults loved her, but other kids wanted to stay far away. Books were her only companions. She had desperately wanted Hogwarts to be different and she could fear the burning tears forming in her eyes.
"No," she thought to herself with fierce resolve, forcing herself to stop crying. "Hogwarts will be different. I'll be in Ravenclaw where they cherish intelligence and I won't be alone anymore." Her eyes were still a bit moist by the time she got to her compartment door, but she wiped them with her sleeve before anyone could see them. She found her seat and sat lost in thought for the remainder of the trip.
The train stopped. The students were told not to take any of their belongings - just leave the train. Hermiony heard a loud booming voice calling out "Firs year! Firs years!" She turned to look for the voice, and was shocked to see the largest, wildest man she had ever seen in her life. In "The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self Protection" there was a section about giants, but this man was not large enough to be one of them. Maybe he had some giant blood. Harry called out to him, "Hello, Hagrid." Hermiony wondered how he knew Hagrid if he only lived among Muggles. Hagrid returned the greeting and then instructed all the first year students to get into boats to cross the lake.
Much to her chagrin, she and Neville rode in a boat with Harry and Ron. But there was no time to reflect on that misfortune. First of all, Hagrid found Neville's toad. But more importantly, Hogwarts appeared in the distance. It was a castle with towers and spires that no Muggle architect could ever build. It was also the most magnificent thing she had ever seen. No book, not even "Hogwarts, A History" had prepared her for that sight. The boats approached the castle. As the students got out of the boats, Hagrid banged on the castle doors. To Hermiony's surprise, Professor McGonagall answered. "Thank you Hagrid, I'll take them from here."
Hermiony shivered as the students walked down the hall. Professor McGonagall led the first years down a corridor and told them something about forming a line and smartening themselves up. And she spoke about a House Cup and how to get and lose points. But Hermiony barely heard her. She was too nervous and excited. Unfortunately, she had a bad habit of talking too much when she got nervous and started telling the girls next her that she wondered which spells she needed and that she had memorized all her textbooks. A few people gave her angry stares, but before anyone said anything to her, there was a scream. Twenty pure white ghosts came through the walls, talking about second chances and someone named Peeves who wasn't a ghost. Then the ghosts noticed the students.
One of the ghosts, a friar, tried to put the first years at ease by telling them that he was in Hufflepuff and he hoped to see some of the students there. But before anyone could say anything else, Professor McGonagall shooed the ghosts away and led the first years into the Great Hall.
There were four long tables and candles suspended in mid-air above to light the hall, but Hermiony barely noticed that. The ceiling, which seemed to go on forever into the night, attracted her gaze. "It's enchanted to look like the sky outside. I read about it in 'Hogwarts, A History'," she said to no one in particular. The first years stood in a line before the four tables and Professor placed a stool in front of them. On it she placed a ratty hat. Everyone in the hall started at it. Suddenly it sang. Hermiony suddenly understood why the sorting was so special - the hat sorted the student into houses according the virtues that best fit the house. Ravenclaws were intelligent, Gryffindors were brave, Hufflepuffs were loyal and hard working, and Slytherins were cunning. The hat read their souls.
Professor McGonagall took out a parchment and read a name. As each first year's name was read, he or she would don the hat and it called out which house the student was in. And the older students of that house would go wild with applause when someone was selected to be with them. Terry Boot and Mandy Brocklehurst were selected for Ravenclaw. "My new classmates," Hermiony thought resolutely.
Lavender Brown was called. "GRYFFINDOR," the hat shouted. Hermiony felt a sharp pang of envy.
Finally it was her turn. She tried strode confidently to the hat and eagerly jammed it on her head.
"My, oh my," said a voice. "How interesting. You expect to be in Ravenclaw. You have so much potential and can go far. And I see that you are very smart, one of the cleverest students I've ever come across. That says quite a bit, mind you. Ravenclaw is a great house and it would sharpen your intellect. But you don't really want to go there, do you? No. Your heart says you want to be elsewhere. You want to be in GRYFFINDOR." The hat shouted that last word and wild applause came from the Gryffindor table, though Hermiony swore she heard Ron Weasley groan. The Gryffindors were quite excited. Ron's older brother Percy, the prefect she met on the train, got up and shook her hand. She took a seat next to Lavender Brown and Seamus Finnegan, the other new Gryffindor first years.
Much to her surprise, Neville was sorted into Gryffindor too. He actually headed toward the table while still wearing the hat. Hermiony couldn't suppress giggles as he returned it.
Draco Malfoy, was sorted into Slytherin, immediately. "Good," thought Hermiony. "I don't have to be near him." The nasty, pug-nosed girl from the train, Pansy Parkinson was her name, was also sorted into Slytherin. The Patil twins were actually sorted into different houses - Parvati in Gryffindor and Padma in Ravenclaw. When Harry Potter was called, whispers of disbelief and awe flew throughout the hall. And when he was sorted into Gryffindor, the entire table went crazy, yelling and screaming, climbing on the benches, stamping their feet. "We got Potter! We got Potter!" she heard Fred and George yell.
The sorting continued. The handsome boy, Dean Thomas was placed in Gryffindor too. When Ron was also placed in Gryffindor, his brothers and Harry banged the table loudly. Another first year was sorted, and the ceremony was complete.
As everyone calmed down from the excitement, a man with a long white beard and half-moon spectacles, got up from his chair at the center of the professors' table. Clearly, this was the headmaster, Albus Dumbledore.
He gave a short address of funny words ("Nitwit! Oddment! Blubber! Tweak!") and then food appeared on the tables. As everyone started to talk about their backgrounds, Hermiony (a little embarrassed) started to chat with Percy about Transfigurations and about Professor McGonagall - who was now sitting at the head table next to Dumbledore. Percy (very cute in a nerdy sort of way) was telling her how hard it was and how they would start small. But he also told her how wonderful the class was and how great (and tough) a professor McGonagall was. Hermiony filled with the desire to succeed in her class and make McGonagall proud (she was not the woman who appeared to be proud often.) She got to meet all the other students in Gryffindor. Speaking to Percy, Fred, and George, she learned that their two eldest brothers, Bill and Charlie, had graduated and another sibling, a sister named Ginny would start next year. The Weasleys were very much an all-magical family.) She met Angelina Johnson, Katie Bell, and Alicia Spinnet, three older girls who were quite pretty and very eager to answer questions. The first year class was only full eight people, herself, Harry, Ron, Seamus (an Irish boy whose father was a Muggle and whose mother was a witch), Dean, Neville, Parvati, and Lavender. Hermiony also met Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington, the Resident Ghost of Gryffindor who was quite a delightful fellow. Much to his consternation students called him "Nearly-Headless Nick" because when he died, the man in charge of executing him was unable to completely sever head from his body. Now as a ghost he could use his neck as a hinge.
After the feast, Dumbledore got up again and gave some standard warnings - magic was forbidden in the corridors, there was a list of things students couldn't have. The Forbidden Forest was off limits and apparently older students didn't always remember that. There were tryouts for something called Quidditch ("It's the best sport in the world, but you have to learn how to fly a broom first," Angelina whispered to her.) He also said the students needed to avoid the third floor corridor on the right hand side unless they wished to die a painful death. Harry laughed, thinking it was a joke, but Percy looked very serious. Then Dumbledore directed everyone to sing the school song in whatever tune they liked. Fred and George sang slowly and finished last.
After dinner Percy led the first years to Gryffindor Tower. Out of nowhere a poltergeist named Peeves appeared and threw walking sticks at him. Percy threatened him and Peeves left. The entrance to the tower was a picture of a fat lady in a pink dress. Like all the pictures in this new world, the fat lady could move around and even talk. She asked for the password. Percy gave it to her ("Caput Draconis") and the portrait swung open. Hermiony took a brief look at the common room before she, Parvati, and Lavender were directed to the first year girls' bedroom. The red curtained, four poster beds were absolutely beautiful and even more comfortable than they looked. Hermiony's last thought before falling asleep was that she hoped that the three of them would become great friends.