Chapter Five
"Firs' years! Firs' years this way!"
Hannah looked up to the stomach of a huge man. He had a grizzly black beard and wild black hair, but his eyes twinkled down as he seemed to smile under the mass of hair.
"Come on, little Missy, you can come this way! Hagrid's the name!"
"Hannah!" She reached up to shake his hand and her arm was grasped in his fingers. She was led down a grassy, dark slope to the edge of a lake.
"Four to a boat! Only four to a boat!" she heard Hagrid yell out from the fog and rain.
It was night when they finally got off the train and rain started coming down. Hannah climbed into a little rowboat with three other people she couldn't really see. They rowed across the water in a huge group of little boats. They sailed under a tree and then she saw it; Hogwarts castle. It was magnificent. The tall dark towers rose high into the clouds it seemed and the windows let out a welcoming light. Hannah leaped out of her boat in excitement onto the rocky shore and clambered up the steps.
Hagrid knocked on the heavy door and a tall, stiff woman opened the door.
"The first years, Professor McGonagall." Hagrid said gruffly.
"Very well, Hagrid, bring them in."
Hannah shivered and jumped up and down, eager to see the inside. Slowly the door was pulled open and the group was led in.
"Wow!" Hannah squealed. The ceiling was high, high, high and there was a huge staircase, curling up to other floors. There were double doors off to the right, where there were many voices echoing from inside.
"Must be where the rest of the school is." Hannah thought aloud. But instead of going through those great double doors, they were brought into a smaller chamber on the left.
"Aww," Hannah moaned. Professor McGonagall faced them.
"Welcome to Hogwarts, children. In a few moments, you will be taken into the Great Hall and will be sorted into your houses. You will either be in Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, or Slytherin. Wait here for a few moments and I will come back for you."
With that the professor left, and the group of nervous students were left to imagine what the sorting could possibly.
"I bet you have to take some kind of test," said one boy, timidly.
"My brother said it hurts a lot, but I think he was fooling."
"Maybe you have to wrestle a troll or something."
All of a sudden, about fifteen ghosts appeared out of the side wall. Some people screamed. Hannah gasped with awe. Everyone back towards the other wall, but the ghosts didn't seem to notice them. They were debating about someone. Hannah was so fascinated by these creatures that she walked up to one of them and introduced herself.
"Hannah, ay?" said the ghost, "I'm the Fat Friar. Hope to see you in Hufflepuff. My old house you know."
"Really? What's Hufflepuff like?" Hannah asked eagerly.
The ghost was just about to answer when Professor McGonagall came back. The ghosts disappeared through the opposite wall.
"Come on, get into a line and follow me." Hannah got behind a boy with black hair. She came up to his shoulders and although quite short, Hannah saw that he wore glasses.
"Excuse me," she tapped him on the shoulder. The boy turned around from talking to his redhead friend and looked down at Hannah.
"Hi, my name's Hannah. What's yours?"
"Harry." he wiped his brow and brushed his bangs away, revealing a lightening-shaped scar on his forehead.
"Wow. That scar is cool. How on earth did you get a cut like that?"
"Um…"
"Children! We are ready to begin the sorting. Remain in a line and please be quiet." Professor McGonagall had brought into the Great Hall without Hannah noticing. Now she looked and it was just as beautiful as the entrance hall was. It also had a high ceiling that had swirling grey clouds and drops were visible, but none fell. Hannah gaped at it.
"It's enchanted to look like the sky outside," a voice said behind her. "I read it in Hogwarts, A History. But of course you already knew that didn't you, Hannah?"
Hannah knew it was Hermione with the sarcastic voice and Hannah conveniently ignored her. Then another voice echoed throughout the hall, singing. Hannah stretched up trying to see and peeked through people's arms and saw that a hat was singing. Yes! A witch's hat was singing! Hannah's mouth dropped. When its song was ended, Professor McGonagall walked toward it and took out a list and began to call names.
"Abbott, Hannah!" a girl with blond pigtails walked timidly up to the hat and put it on her head.
"That's all we have to do?" Hannah asked herself, disappointed, "That's it? Try on a stupid old hat?"
Professor McGonagall read down in alphabetical order.
"Granger, Hermione!" Hermione nearly made Hannah fall in her attempt to get to the hat and slamming it on her head.
"GRYFFINDOR!" the hat shouted. Hermione gleefully jumped off and ran to a table on the left end. Other students went. The boy in front of Hannah went.
"Potter, Harry!" The hat yelled Gryffindor.
"Oh, I hope I'm in Gryffindor!" Hannah whispered, "Even if Hermione is in it, I want to be in Gryffindor."
Two girls and a boy went up and one went to Slytherin, and two to Ravenclaw.
"Rosenfeld, Hannah!" Hannah skipped up to the hat and put it carefully on her head.
"Hello, dear one." the hat said in her ear. She jumped, listening and thinking "Gryffindor, Gryffindor!"
"Gryffindor? Hmm, you have plenty of potential for bravery young lady and a spanking good imagination if I don't say so myself!" Hannah giggled inwardly.
"Yes, then GRYFFINDOR!" Hannah's mouth dropped yet again and she hopped off the stool on which the hat was and ran to the table where Harry and Hermione had run to.
She sat down breathlessly, all smiles and watched the rest of the sorting. The red head that Harry was talking to was Ronald Weasley. He went up, his face as red as his hair and made Gryffindor. A whole group of other red heads jumped up and yelled and clapped. They must be his brothers, Hannah thought, my, he has a lot of brothers. I wish I had a brother.
The feast began with the magical appearance of the food on the plates and astonished Hannah, feeling as though nothing could surprise her in this place, dug into the delicious food.
*******
After the feast, one of the red head boys, the oldest, Hannah suspected, called the first years to attention. He brought them in a line out of the Great Hall and up the stairs in the entrance hall. They wound through hallways, climbed past tapestries and up hidden staircases until they reached a painting with a picture of a fat lady in a pink silk dress.
"Password," she said, as silkily as her dress.
"Lemon drop," the boy answered and waited as the picture frame swung open to reveal an opening. He went through and led them into a circular room with a huge fireplace in the center and lots of red comfortable looking armchairs. Hannah sighed at the peacefulness of it.
"I'm Percy Weasley," the boy began, "and I'm one of the Gryffindor prefects. This room is called the common room. This is where you'll do homework, meet new people and just hang out. The boys' rooms are to the left and the girls on the right. Your things have already been brought up to your beds. Sleep well!"
Hannah followed the other girls up the right staircase to the first door which was labeled "First Years." She stepped and gasped. This room was also circular and had four canopy beds draped in scarlet. Hannah's suitcases sat open with her clothes laid out and a nightgown ready on her bed. She climbed up on the bed and fell onto her back against the pillows.
"Ahh, I think I'm gonna like it here," she sighed then sat up, threw her nightgown on and fell into a deep sleep.
"Firs' years! Firs' years this way!"
Hannah looked up to the stomach of a huge man. He had a grizzly black beard and wild black hair, but his eyes twinkled down as he seemed to smile under the mass of hair.
"Come on, little Missy, you can come this way! Hagrid's the name!"
"Hannah!" She reached up to shake his hand and her arm was grasped in his fingers. She was led down a grassy, dark slope to the edge of a lake.
"Four to a boat! Only four to a boat!" she heard Hagrid yell out from the fog and rain.
It was night when they finally got off the train and rain started coming down. Hannah climbed into a little rowboat with three other people she couldn't really see. They rowed across the water in a huge group of little boats. They sailed under a tree and then she saw it; Hogwarts castle. It was magnificent. The tall dark towers rose high into the clouds it seemed and the windows let out a welcoming light. Hannah leaped out of her boat in excitement onto the rocky shore and clambered up the steps.
Hagrid knocked on the heavy door and a tall, stiff woman opened the door.
"The first years, Professor McGonagall." Hagrid said gruffly.
"Very well, Hagrid, bring them in."
Hannah shivered and jumped up and down, eager to see the inside. Slowly the door was pulled open and the group was led in.
"Wow!" Hannah squealed. The ceiling was high, high, high and there was a huge staircase, curling up to other floors. There were double doors off to the right, where there were many voices echoing from inside.
"Must be where the rest of the school is." Hannah thought aloud. But instead of going through those great double doors, they were brought into a smaller chamber on the left.
"Aww," Hannah moaned. Professor McGonagall faced them.
"Welcome to Hogwarts, children. In a few moments, you will be taken into the Great Hall and will be sorted into your houses. You will either be in Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, or Slytherin. Wait here for a few moments and I will come back for you."
With that the professor left, and the group of nervous students were left to imagine what the sorting could possibly.
"I bet you have to take some kind of test," said one boy, timidly.
"My brother said it hurts a lot, but I think he was fooling."
"Maybe you have to wrestle a troll or something."
All of a sudden, about fifteen ghosts appeared out of the side wall. Some people screamed. Hannah gasped with awe. Everyone back towards the other wall, but the ghosts didn't seem to notice them. They were debating about someone. Hannah was so fascinated by these creatures that she walked up to one of them and introduced herself.
"Hannah, ay?" said the ghost, "I'm the Fat Friar. Hope to see you in Hufflepuff. My old house you know."
"Really? What's Hufflepuff like?" Hannah asked eagerly.
The ghost was just about to answer when Professor McGonagall came back. The ghosts disappeared through the opposite wall.
"Come on, get into a line and follow me." Hannah got behind a boy with black hair. She came up to his shoulders and although quite short, Hannah saw that he wore glasses.
"Excuse me," she tapped him on the shoulder. The boy turned around from talking to his redhead friend and looked down at Hannah.
"Hi, my name's Hannah. What's yours?"
"Harry." he wiped his brow and brushed his bangs away, revealing a lightening-shaped scar on his forehead.
"Wow. That scar is cool. How on earth did you get a cut like that?"
"Um…"
"Children! We are ready to begin the sorting. Remain in a line and please be quiet." Professor McGonagall had brought into the Great Hall without Hannah noticing. Now she looked and it was just as beautiful as the entrance hall was. It also had a high ceiling that had swirling grey clouds and drops were visible, but none fell. Hannah gaped at it.
"It's enchanted to look like the sky outside," a voice said behind her. "I read it in Hogwarts, A History. But of course you already knew that didn't you, Hannah?"
Hannah knew it was Hermione with the sarcastic voice and Hannah conveniently ignored her. Then another voice echoed throughout the hall, singing. Hannah stretched up trying to see and peeked through people's arms and saw that a hat was singing. Yes! A witch's hat was singing! Hannah's mouth dropped. When its song was ended, Professor McGonagall walked toward it and took out a list and began to call names.
"Abbott, Hannah!" a girl with blond pigtails walked timidly up to the hat and put it on her head.
"That's all we have to do?" Hannah asked herself, disappointed, "That's it? Try on a stupid old hat?"
Professor McGonagall read down in alphabetical order.
"Granger, Hermione!" Hermione nearly made Hannah fall in her attempt to get to the hat and slamming it on her head.
"GRYFFINDOR!" the hat shouted. Hermione gleefully jumped off and ran to a table on the left end. Other students went. The boy in front of Hannah went.
"Potter, Harry!" The hat yelled Gryffindor.
"Oh, I hope I'm in Gryffindor!" Hannah whispered, "Even if Hermione is in it, I want to be in Gryffindor."
Two girls and a boy went up and one went to Slytherin, and two to Ravenclaw.
"Rosenfeld, Hannah!" Hannah skipped up to the hat and put it carefully on her head.
"Hello, dear one." the hat said in her ear. She jumped, listening and thinking "Gryffindor, Gryffindor!"
"Gryffindor? Hmm, you have plenty of potential for bravery young lady and a spanking good imagination if I don't say so myself!" Hannah giggled inwardly.
"Yes, then GRYFFINDOR!" Hannah's mouth dropped yet again and she hopped off the stool on which the hat was and ran to the table where Harry and Hermione had run to.
She sat down breathlessly, all smiles and watched the rest of the sorting. The red head that Harry was talking to was Ronald Weasley. He went up, his face as red as his hair and made Gryffindor. A whole group of other red heads jumped up and yelled and clapped. They must be his brothers, Hannah thought, my, he has a lot of brothers. I wish I had a brother.
The feast began with the magical appearance of the food on the plates and astonished Hannah, feeling as though nothing could surprise her in this place, dug into the delicious food.
*******
After the feast, one of the red head boys, the oldest, Hannah suspected, called the first years to attention. He brought them in a line out of the Great Hall and up the stairs in the entrance hall. They wound through hallways, climbed past tapestries and up hidden staircases until they reached a painting with a picture of a fat lady in a pink silk dress.
"Password," she said, as silkily as her dress.
"Lemon drop," the boy answered and waited as the picture frame swung open to reveal an opening. He went through and led them into a circular room with a huge fireplace in the center and lots of red comfortable looking armchairs. Hannah sighed at the peacefulness of it.
"I'm Percy Weasley," the boy began, "and I'm one of the Gryffindor prefects. This room is called the common room. This is where you'll do homework, meet new people and just hang out. The boys' rooms are to the left and the girls on the right. Your things have already been brought up to your beds. Sleep well!"
Hannah followed the other girls up the right staircase to the first door which was labeled "First Years." She stepped and gasped. This room was also circular and had four canopy beds draped in scarlet. Hannah's suitcases sat open with her clothes laid out and a nightgown ready on her bed. She climbed up on the bed and fell onto her back against the pillows.
"Ahh, I think I'm gonna like it here," she sighed then sat up, threw her nightgown on and fell into a deep sleep.
