Voldemort- the untold Truth
Chapter 8 - Sorting, a feast and enchantments.
The train ride to Hogwarts was nevertheless exhausting, but Tom was grateful when it finally neared to a stop. Outside, the weather changed from a quite sunny day, to later in the evening when it was bleak and breezy.
The station welcomed the students with bright-light lanterns coming from near by horse-drawn carriages. Some older students were already standing outside, holding open the doors of the train's carriages and beckoning the younger students to get a move-on. And Tom and a group of first-years were instructed to wait while the others followed different lot of older students.
"Wait here, first years," a lanky boy of short black hair repeated. "Professor Botallo should arrive soon."
Botallo, Tom thought as he recognized the name. Armando Botallo – the headmaster's assistant.
"Sorry, was a bit preoccupied," called the voice of Armando Botallo from a distance, "If you follow me this way, to the carriages, please!" His voice rang out from the noise of many hurtled students murmuring and talking as they passed hither and tither on Tom's left and right.
After directing the students to get into groups of 6, Tom having found a group of boys who never stopped babbling in excitement, slowly the groups began to fill each black horse-driven carriage.
Before Tom managed to get a sit on the carriage pointed over to his group, Botallo noticed him and waved.
"Hey there Tom, nice to know you survived the journey," Armando Botallo stepped aside to let the traffic of students go on.
Tom smiled. "'T was tiring Sir but quite enthralling as well."
That merry laugh was heard again. "Good, good, well off you go, now," he said. "Steady now," he called to the black shiny beauty of a horse in front of the carriage whose hoofs shuffled excitedly.
A moment later, they were off.
**
"So what house you think you'll be sorted into?" asked a red-head boy with lots of freckles who sat opposite Tom in the carriage. Next to that him sat another boy with curly brown hair, and next to him another who every so often blew out a green bubble of what smelled like mint gum.
"I am not sure; Are we to be sorted into houses?" Tom asked surprised.
"Don't you know that," the second boy with brown curly hair asked. When Tom shook his head, the boy continued, "Well there's Gryffindor, Hufflepuff..."
"Slytherin," the red-head boy said admirably.
"And Ravenclaw," said another boy with blonde curly hair and glasses. "This is the house I'd like to be in."
"Ravenclaw," said the red-head boy, disgusted. "They are too smart for their own good, I reckon. My cousin was sorted into Ravenclaw and now he works in Gringots Bank"
"So what's so wrong with that," asked the boy with the glasses who looked a tad annoyed.
"Well when he's got no more to do, he gets really bored, and tries to make up challenges. One of them he showed me was inventing a system to detect a robber before they even robbed something!"
"What about Hufflepuff," asked Tom in interest.
"Oh that one's for cowards, I'll say, those too scared to face a challenge. They make loyal friends, in there, but this is all they'll do," Chortled the red-head boy.
"Which one would you go into, then," Asked Tom who was a bit confused about the names of the houses and mad about how unfair it was that the other boys knew more about this world.
"Slytherin or Gryffindor," the red-head boy smiled, "but I'd like to be in Slytherin, 'cause the professor there, I was told, has good reputation for teaching and he's the Slytherin house's professor. Teaches the best potion class ever, was told."
So all those heavy potions ingredients I'd gotten would be for good use, Tom thought.
"My name's Alex Whitmore, by the way," Said the freckly red-head boy proudly, "and yours?"
"Tom Riddle," Tom said proudly back. This place was going to be different; no more bullies.
"And I am Scott Malray," said the one with blonde curly hair and glasses.
"And I am Elliot Blackmoore," the brown curly head boy shook Tom's hand.
"I am Mark Sullivan," another quite boy suddenly spoke. He had brown hair also but short with a fringe.
The last one did not answer for he had fallen asleep.
"He probably woke up quiet early this morning for he sleeps like a baby," laughed Alex. The others followed in with the laughter until the carriage began to rocket with them and woke up the sleeping boy.
"Wha's funny?" He said quite groggily.
"Go back to sleep, you git," Alex wiped tears from his eyes.
And he did.
**
When the carriages have come to an abrupt stop, and the boys looked out the window, Tom's jaw dropped. In front of him stood a most enchanted castle he had never seen. On the south of it, lay enshrouded a brilliant velvety lake, glistening in the darkness.
It must have reached the clouds, this castle, for it was monstrously high, and the wooden oak double doors looked very much enormous; and what were more fascinating were the statues of winged boars standing on the pillars that surrounded the entrance; for a moment he could not glance away from them.
As they all got off the carriages and were led by Armando Botallo up ahead, Tom took a moment to glance up to the golden- lit windows – so many of them that he lost count. They must be already in there waiting he thought excitedly.
While waiting for the wooden doors to open, Tom saw that surrounding the castle was vast extended grounds that stretched far and beyond to a large forest far back. A school leading to the woods... he thought inquisitively, but his heart throbbed with excitement as the doors opened wide and they began to enter...
**
In the Entrance hall stood on left and right a set of armour as a set of decoration, and the stone floor gleamed below their feet as they entered. Further ahead was a marbled staircase leading to first floor while two other staircases, narrower and smaller led to other paths.
"These," Botallo pointed when a boy asked about those narrow staircases, "lead to the kitchens and the dungeons."
On the left were two more wooden doors leading to the Great Hall and on the right was a small antechamber.
"Now get into a line please from shortest to tallest, and wait patiently awhile" Armando Botallo directed the first years. With a push, he opened the brown heavy wooden doors and led them to a small anti chamber and when the first years all got in he said quietly, "Inside the other wooden doors is the Great hall where you'll be sorted into your houses. There is Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slythern. These houses will serve as your home houses for the rest of the year – where you will gain points or lose points depending on how well you behave and if you break any rules. A sorting hat will look into your mind and sort you where you'll most likely be and that will be your house today, tomorrow and for the rest of your years here in Hogwarts. The rest of the school will be waiting for you to be sorted and then you may enjoy our wonderful beginning-of-term banquet."
A sorting hat...? Tom thought and gulped.
"Come along now, they are ready for you." And with that, Armando Botallo led them back to the entrance hall, and through those enormous wooden doors, where behind a drone of voices frightened him.
If Tom thought he was dreaming, possibly it was right now. His eyes shot straight to the ceiling which seemed like it was enchanted or made to look like a brilliant sky outside while candles hung in mid air, adding a kind of warmness to the hall. Filling the hall were 4 long tables that stretched up to almost the other end of it except allowing a space of the main one, each table presenting its own house with a flag But the one Tom liked the best was the Snake in green that belonged to Slytherin. Gryffindor table was on the far right; Hufflpuff was on the second to the right, then Ravenclaw a bit to the left and Slytherin in the corner.
As Tom turned his head left and right, he observed that all the tables were covered with golden plates and goblets that looked so polished they shined. Along the tables the students sat of all ages watching in unison at the first-years passing to the end of the hall close to the stage where the teachers sat, their eyes following with interest as they whispered and pointed at the new arrivals.
When Tom and the other first- years were ordered to stop, Tom noticed that another professor stood up from her desk bringing along a four-legged stool which she placed silently on the stage a meter away from the end of the High table. He noticed quickly, that she was not young, but looked close to 65 or so. She seemed the sort that liked to dress plumply for her robes were quite outstanding, even if her figure was not; she had quite musclier appearance but her character seemed like a warm and pleasing type, making Tom feel like a needing hug.
A moment later an old battered hat with high pointed top was placed upon it. Is that the sorting hat? Tom thought briefly after seeing what looked like an ordinary wizard hat. Remember, here in wizards' world, nothing is quite ordinary...
Suddenly the brim of the hat opened revealing a gap which extended to look like a mouth and a moment later it sang:
I am a hat not much in use
But once a year I wake,
To sort you all to a certain house
And wizards of you make.
As a special hat, I have been made
To find your certain skill;
I'll read your mind and see through you,
Your secrets I'll reveal.
I might put you in Gryffindor,
Where bravest ones are true;
In challenges they'll rightly win,
And be those champions, anew.
I might put you in Ravenclaw,
Where those of a cleverest mind,
Solve mysteries of any time,
And ones of any kind.
Or maybe Hufflepuff will suit you best
Where friendship's mighty loyal;
You'll find your way in tougher times,
Together you will toil.
Or what of house like Slytherin,
Where those ambitions rise?
They'll stand above competitors,
And get their rightful prize!
I am a Hogwarts ancient hat,
A thousand years or more.
And soon I'll be back in my place
To think of poems galore.
So hither put me on your head,
To find where you will be,
Then find your place in your new house
And don't forget to thank me!
The hall flooded with applause then; everyone was cheering and laughing admirably while the hat bowed times and times to each of the tables; even the teachers laughed.
So Gryffindor would be for bravery, while Hufflepuff for loyalty, Ravenclaw for cleverness, and Slytherin...prize winning, thought Tom as he repeated the words of the hat over and over in his head.
When Tom came back to reality, he noticed Botallo had taken his sit in the teacher's table while the lady with the silver robes held out a parchment.
"I will call names and I'd like each of you to come up the stairs and take a sit at this chair while I place the hat over your head," she said looking at the first-years for a brief moment, then her eyes traced down the list and back up again, "Blackmoore, Elliot!" The boy with brown curly hair who sat opposite Tom in the carriage came forward and the hat was put on his head.
"HUFFLEPUFF!" The hat called so loudly that Elliot had to unblock his ears when he stepped off the stage. Cheering sounded from the Hufflepuff table as he joined them.
"Brief, Slaiten!" Another boy with blonde straight hair came forward, his cheeks were rosier and his hands shook as he took his place on the chair.
"RAVENCLAW!"
"Bright, Aliana!" A girl with blonde silky hair and a flower in her head came forward confidently.
"GRYFFINDOR!"
Tom was getting very nervous by now. Was the Hat going to place him in Hufflepuff – where Alex told him sooks were made, or was it just his dislike to the house itself, not knowing much but enough to dislike it?
"Gerbelle, Becky!" A girl with glasses and black straight hair plated on her side came slowly forward, her face pale as snow.
"HUFFLEPUFF!" Again the cheering sounded from the Hufflepuff; they had 2 new joiners now.
"Malfoy, Lucius!" This boy had blonde short hair that kind of hung a bit to his side and pale grey eyes. No sooner had the boy taken a sit, the hat screamed, "SLYTHERIN!" The boy left grinning.
"Malroy, Scott!" The curly blonde boy with glasses who wished to be in Ravenclaw received his wish. The hat called "RAVENCLAW"!
"Riddle, Tom!" The lady called and spotted him as he advanced forward. His hair was in a bit of disarray after he had constantly slid his fingers through it out of nervousness, and his hands were also shacking. Not only was he anxious, but he felt his legs behaving like Jell- O, buckling sightly each time he took his step. Take it easy, just step at a time, don't trip, don't look back, just straight ahead, it's just a bloody dirty hat, thoughts breezed his mind. Finally after what seemed like ages, did he find his sit at the 4-legged stool and waited. His face was looking out to the hall where many pale, rosy faces glared back at him. So many people, so many hats, so many pale faces...let this be over already.
Then darkness followed as the Hat was place over his head and covered his eyes. If Tom thought the hat was talking loudly, he was wrong. His ears rung with the voice but to him it sounded quite and calm, even if the echo was heard more loudly.
"Tom Riddle, is it now? Quite interesting indeed and curious too; you have many gifts and many talents, so what house should suit you now...smart mind I see alright, bravery is strong, loyalty is evident, ambition...yes that too. And a skill for languages as well- a clever quality indeed. The type to be ahead, to win, to be ambitious, in need of power...there is a house. The only house perhaps that'll suit you fine no doubt..."
Only one house? But what had happened to the rest and why's this bloody hat taking so long?
A silence followed then. It seemed everything and everyone stopped breathing as they watched him and the murmuring hat, and then before they were prepared...
"SLYTHERIN!"
It is over... breathed out Tom as he smiled and stepped of the stage and walked across the hall to the cheering house that awaited him, the house with the picture of a serpent Tom like most, the house Alex was proudly talking about.
His Slytherin house.
"Well done in entering the best house in Hogwarts," said an older boy who claimed to be in 6th year and a prefect. He had jet black hair and brown, sharp eyes that he tended to use to glare at Tom being a new-comer, his mouth formed into a wicked smile. Even more welcoming...Thought Tom as he smiled weakly and turned his head back to the people being sorted.
Danial Stroter was placed in Gryffindor, Mark Sullivan (another boy from the carriage) was placed as Gryffindor, Susanna White (a pretty red-head girl) was also placed in Gryffindor, and Alex Whitmore came over smiling, to join Slytherin.
When Alex came to sit next to Tom, he held his shoulders high and sang, "I knew I'll be in Slytherin."
Tom half-smiled and then turned to the 6th year by the name of John.
"So the sorting takes place every year here," he asked.
"Oh yes, though I have started getting sick of it, from my second year; the hat sings such stupid songs you'd want to laugh right at it," he drawled.
"It sings a song every year? I wonder who has made it do such thing and sort the students to houses..."
"Well there were founders once," replied another student, a girl with black locks of hair that bounced quite jubilantly on her face as she spoke, " Salazar Slytherin, Helga Hufflepuff, another founder named Rowena Ravenclaw..."
"And an idiot by the name of Godric Gryffindor who made that stupid hat sing songs," smirked John.
"So why the hat," asked Alex joining in to the conversation. John rolled his eyes for a moment.
"Silly, why else would Godric Gryffindor make up a stupid hat, so it can sort the students into their right house while the founders no longer exist."
Alex turned red momentarily.
"May I say something," a cold voice said; the voice of Lucius Malfoy. Some people turned to him now. "The story of the hat was of course the 'hero's' idea – Godric, who was a Muggle lover and wanted any wizard or witch, pure blood or not, to learn in Hogwarts. Of course our Salazar rejected this idea for he was known to hate Muggle-borns and Mud-bloods. So he and Godric argued certainly while Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff weren't sure what to say. In the end Salazar left and made his revenge – a chamber."
"A chamber, what kind of chamber?" Tom sounded very interested all of a sudden.
Lucius smiled now as he was happy that Tom had asked that question.
"It is a secret chamber where he hoped one day will be found by his heir and unleash a basilisk and kill the ones that weren't worthy of studying magic."
Kill the ones that weren't worthy of studying magic...Tom pondered over that and shivered slightly. Before he had a chance to ask some more questions of the chamber, he was suddenly interrupted by a wizard clearing his throat.
He was standing behind the table, around the centre of it, with teachers on his left and teachers on his right. As Tom watched him smiling and looking from table to table, he noted a similarity in him. His hair was also silver white but seemed to centre in the middle, leaving all else bold, had a longer moustache which curled toward the ends
and very colourful robes – of blue and yellow, and a funny snoozing hat with stars on it.
"Welcome to our first years and welcome to you all," said Armando Dippet, the headmaster.
The hall burst into applause again, but not in such Great Spirit; for everyone was thinking of food.
"Just a few words, before I'll open the banquet," he said warmly but seriously. "The Forbidden Forest is out of bounds to all students unless by a permission of teacher, but must never travel alone, for there are many horrors living there best not to face. And our young caretaker Mr Filtch had asked me to remind you that no magic should be used outside your classrooms."
Tom saw a young man, filthy bits of hair covering his unshaved face, siting in a chair at the corner left of the High table frozen like a statue.
"Now that that is out of the way, Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!" And then he sat back down again and the noise of forks clanking sounded around the room.
For a moment Tom was perplexed. Did the man just speak in another language?
"Eat Tom," said Alex. "Oh this wafting smell kills me that I've got to have some of that roast."
When Tom looked down towards the table he couldn't believe his eyes. Now I am really dreaming...he thought and his mouth hung open as he gaped. There were dishes upon dishes of roasted beef, chicken, lamb chops and pork chops, sausages of different kinds, bacon, steak, gravy, fries, roast potatoes, carrots, ketchup, and Yorkshire puddings. He didn't wait a moment longer; he grabbed everything within his sight and ate.
**
It was time to go to sleep. After everyone had finished, feeling satisfied with the beautiful banquet, the Headmaster Armando Dippet ordered the prefects to take the first years to their dormitories.
After the Slytherin house filed out of the hall, Tom noticed that the other houses were going up the stairs.
"Bad luck to them I say," teased a Slytherin student. "They have to cross all those moving stairs that change each day."
"Aren't we going up as well," asked Tom, a bit disappointed that he couldn't experience the moving stairs just yet.
"Our dormitory is down that spiralling narrow stair way where the dungeons are," drawled John as he was so used to it all. "Up, the stairs move around a lot and some even trip you if you're not careful and you can get stuck there for long if no one comes down or up to help you," he simpered.
"How many stairs are there," asked Alex.
"If I remember correctly..."John scratched his head.
"A hundred and forty-two," cut in Malfoy.
"How do you know that?" John eyed him with an amused look.
"Hogwarts – a History; if you'll read it you will know," Malfoy looked pleased with himself.
"Boring old book; have to study it in History but I never pay attention......" shuddered John. "That reminds me, classes start tomorrow."
He led them down the stairs where they passed a dark, chilled corridor with only a few torches to brighten it. The walls were covered with dark ancient pictures where figures moved about.
Tom blinked as he passed after seeing one portrait of a man with charcoal-black long hair and green eyes staring at him. A while later they'd reached a blank stone wall.
"This is the entrance," John pointed out. "There should have been a portrait hole to enter through but guess we don't get one. Now what we have to do is say the password of the house and it will open and let us through."
"My, you do have security here," whispered Tom.
"You bet, and that is what I like here," replied John proudly. "Its not only here but also outside the Hogwarts walls no one knows of where we are, Muggles especially."
"That's right," another girl joined in who was shorter than Tom in height but bony. "To them it's just a ruin that says 'DANGER-KEEP OUT.'"
Tom mused over this. "So they don't even have a clue that a magic school exists."
"Parseltongue," John uttered in a kind of a hiss.
"What?" Tom asked.
"The password," Lucius answered with a smile. The stony wall divided in the centre like a crack until a large gap was revealed inside it, a green light emitting from it.
**
They entered into a chamber whose walls were pale and kind of silvery, where greenish torch lights flickered. A set of couches were positioned in a semi circle from the left wall to the right, while pictures filled the walls, many of them showing the same portrait of a man.
After the prefect showed them their dormitories, Tom came back to look at the pictures. Lucius Malfoy was looking at them also with a sense of admiration in his look.
"Who's that?" Asked Tom curiously as he glanced at a huge portrait of the same man he saw in the corridor, with the charcoal black hair and the green robes.
"Salazar our Slytherin founder," came the quick response from John who was ordering the first years to go to their beds. "I think you ought to go and rest now, early classes tomorrow."
Tom tore his eyes of the large portrait and turned away to the dormitories, and a sense of unease came over him as he felt eyes burrowing into his back.
In his four-poster bed with its green and silver curtains, Tom lay on his back, his hands supporting his head as he looked up to the window on his right where the pallid moon reflected upon the clouds.
Slowly he closed his eyes and smiled as he made himself cosier inside the comfortably soft bed. Before long, he fell asleep.