Kat watched the scenery of King's Cross begin to move away. Anju
looked both excited and extremely nervous. Kat, on the other hand, was
prepared for the best. She rolled down the window for a breath of the fresh
September air. It was a beautiful day, not cloud in the sky, not a sign of
bad weather in sight.
Anju closed the compartment door and looked at Kat, now smiling.
"What do ya think its going to be like? I am really excited."
Kat exchanged a bright grin and looked at her.
"What happens when we arrive?"
"Well first, we ride these boat things across the lake, or as my mother tells me, and we enter Hogwarts after all the older students have taken their seats. Then, we get to walk in and get sorted into our houses."
"Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff and...umm..."
"Ravenclaw!" Anju interrupted with excitement.
The two girls went on jabbering about the school. Before they knew it, the train began to slow down, pulling up to a small station, and in the distance, stood a mighty, gargantuan, castle, filling with students dressed in black robes. The castle looked like a mansion that could never be all seen. It was huge.
Anju led Kat to the first-year area. A extremely tall man, a bushy brown beard and hair covering his face, wearing a long brown trench coat and the biggest shoes Kat has seen in her life, stood before them, greeting all the students. He had a certain charm about him that made him seem friendly.
Kat looked around in the crowd for that boy, Oliver Wood. He wasn't in sight. Anju took her arm and pulled her onto a boat. The other students all boarded small carriages, which took off toward the castle.
Kat looked around for a paddle, but there wasn't one. A loud whistle came from one of the front boats, and as odd as this sounds, the boats began to move along across the lake. Kat was beginning to get used to this odd magical stuff. She looked down at the water, which looked very clear.
The castle became bigger as they approached. Several lights lit the windows up, making it look like fireflies on the lake. It was a pretty sight. She looked off into the distance, and saw an enormous green field, and standing tall was three pole with hoops on the ends, extending to different heights. Must be another wizard thing, she thought. The boat stopped before she had a chance to look around more. The students got off the boat, and were led into the castle.
Ancient paintings were displayed everywhere. Kat blinked. The pictures were moving. Moving. Moving. MOVING? This place got stranger and stranger every minute. A medium-sized elderly woman approached them, wearing long black robes, a tall black pointed hat, and she had a fired up expression on her face. She seemed happy to see them.
"Welcome to Hogwarts. In a moment we will be entering the Great Hall, where you will be sorted into your houses. They are Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, Gryffindor, and Slytherin. Your house is like your family. You will have classes with them, share dorms with them, and get consequences for your actions for your house. You can be awarded points for your pros, and points may be taken for your cons."
She turned around and opened the large doors, leading the students into the hall. The ceiling was the first thing to be noticed. It was dark and clouded, and didn't seem to have a top, it was like a translucent picture.
The first years were the center of attention. Everyone stared and pointed as they walked down.
Everyone stopped in front of a stool, and sitting on the top, was a raggedy old hat. It looked similar to the one that the woman was wearing, but this one was patched and old.
ÒI will call off your names, please come up to the chair, and I will place the sorting hat onto your head.Ó She picked up the hat and pulled out a piece of parchment.
"Abgail, Trinity!"
A small pale little girl walked up to the stool and sat down. The woman placed the hat onto her head, and it began to move.
"Ahh...hmm...better be...hmm...RAVENCLAW!" The hat shouted.
The Ravenclaw table cheered immensely as she sat down.
"Aburne...Katarina!"
Kat froze for a second. She gulped and walked over to the stool. She sat down, and the hat was placed on her head. The room was dead silent. The hat said nothing. Kat looked very scared and nervous. She closed her eyes tightly as the hat began to laugh.
"Oh, of course... Miss Aburne," It started to laugh. "How could I miss this?! GRYFFINDOR!" It finally said.
The Gryffindor table cheered. She smiled as the hat was removed from her head. She sat down next to a tall older student, with stunning red hair.
"Brookshire, Anju!"
Anju looked just as frightened as Kat had. She took in a deep breath and walked to the stool. She sat down on the stool and looked at the hat being placed on her head. The began to talk right away.
"Ah...good heart...nice pride...GRYFFINDOR!"
Kat smiled and opened a seat up for her as the table cheered.
The sorting continued with Bachel, Rich, to Stevens, Albert.
"Weasley, Percy!"
The hat was placed upon the orange haired boy. It laughed.
"A Weasley! I know where you should go...GRYFFINDOR!"
The table cheered. Kat watched as the next name was called.
"Wood, Oliver!"
Kat stopped dead as the room went silent again. She watched him walk up to the chair, looking confident. He sat on the stool as the hat was placed onto his head.
"Ah...I see... most definite. GRYFFINDOR!"
Kat couldn't stop her grin. She put her hand over her mouth as he took a seat across from her, smiling. The sorting was over, and a man sitting in the center chair of the staff table stood up and began to speak.
"Welcome to Hogwarts first year students. The feast will begin momentarily, when it is over, your house prefects will show you around and give you the passwords to the dorms." He waved his hand across the tables, and they immediately filled with scrumptious food. Everyone began to eat.
Kat couldn't stop herself from looking at Oliver. He started to talk to everyone around him. He paused as he looked at Kat.
"Have I met you somewhere?"
Kat tried not to scream it out.
"I think I saw you in Diagon Alley...we ran into each other."
"Oh! Yes! That's it... I never caught your name."
"Katarina Aburne, Kat."
He held out his hand.
"Wood, Oliver." He smiled as she shook his hand.
Kat beamed at him. They exchanged looks for a moment before Anju nudged her. It was time to go up to the common rooms.
They were led down a long hall, covered with ancient paintings of people, animals, everything. Kat watched as the paints talked to each other and waved to them. This was rather amusing. They arrived in front of a tall portrait of a rather fat woman, wearing an odd looking pink frilled dress. She spoke in a heavy and deep voice.
"Password?"
A tall, older boy, who was leading them upstairs, spoke.
"Quilliet Tricket." He spoke with such fluency with the odd words.
The portrait door opened immediately, revealing a dark pathway. He walked in casually, leading all the new arrivals inside. At the end of the hall was a large room, which the boy called the "common room." There were tables, chairs, couches, and a beautiful fireplace that was roaring with red flames. The room got more crowded as everyone entered.
"The boys' dorm is down the hall, to your left. The girls is to your right. You will find all your belongings already in the dorm room."
He went off and began to chat immensely with another Gryffindor boy. Anju dragged Kat over to go and see their dorm rooms. It was a very large room, piled high with trunks of all the new Gryffindor ladies. Kat sat on her bed, by a large glass window, looking over the big open field she had seen earlier. She found a set of robes with a lion, the Gryffindor mascot, laying on her bed, as well as a red and gold scarf and gloves. She got all of her supplies prepared for the next day, and got all of her things organized in her larger trunk at the foot of her bed. Much more luxury than a cot. She thought.
She sat in bed and wrote down in her journal, a present from Anju to her. It was brown leather bound, and the pages were lined in a pretty gold. She loved to record her day in the journal. She thought that was the greatest idea in the world. She sat in her bed and stared at the ceiling. She found herself asleep in just a matter of minutes. She awoke the next morning, very early, very, very early, with Anju shaking her awake.
"Kat! Hurry and get up!"
Anju closed the compartment door and looked at Kat, now smiling.
"What do ya think its going to be like? I am really excited."
Kat exchanged a bright grin and looked at her.
"What happens when we arrive?"
"Well first, we ride these boat things across the lake, or as my mother tells me, and we enter Hogwarts after all the older students have taken their seats. Then, we get to walk in and get sorted into our houses."
"Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff and...umm..."
"Ravenclaw!" Anju interrupted with excitement.
The two girls went on jabbering about the school. Before they knew it, the train began to slow down, pulling up to a small station, and in the distance, stood a mighty, gargantuan, castle, filling with students dressed in black robes. The castle looked like a mansion that could never be all seen. It was huge.
Anju led Kat to the first-year area. A extremely tall man, a bushy brown beard and hair covering his face, wearing a long brown trench coat and the biggest shoes Kat has seen in her life, stood before them, greeting all the students. He had a certain charm about him that made him seem friendly.
Kat looked around in the crowd for that boy, Oliver Wood. He wasn't in sight. Anju took her arm and pulled her onto a boat. The other students all boarded small carriages, which took off toward the castle.
Kat looked around for a paddle, but there wasn't one. A loud whistle came from one of the front boats, and as odd as this sounds, the boats began to move along across the lake. Kat was beginning to get used to this odd magical stuff. She looked down at the water, which looked very clear.
The castle became bigger as they approached. Several lights lit the windows up, making it look like fireflies on the lake. It was a pretty sight. She looked off into the distance, and saw an enormous green field, and standing tall was three pole with hoops on the ends, extending to different heights. Must be another wizard thing, she thought. The boat stopped before she had a chance to look around more. The students got off the boat, and were led into the castle.
Ancient paintings were displayed everywhere. Kat blinked. The pictures were moving. Moving. Moving. MOVING? This place got stranger and stranger every minute. A medium-sized elderly woman approached them, wearing long black robes, a tall black pointed hat, and she had a fired up expression on her face. She seemed happy to see them.
"Welcome to Hogwarts. In a moment we will be entering the Great Hall, where you will be sorted into your houses. They are Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, Gryffindor, and Slytherin. Your house is like your family. You will have classes with them, share dorms with them, and get consequences for your actions for your house. You can be awarded points for your pros, and points may be taken for your cons."
She turned around and opened the large doors, leading the students into the hall. The ceiling was the first thing to be noticed. It was dark and clouded, and didn't seem to have a top, it was like a translucent picture.
The first years were the center of attention. Everyone stared and pointed as they walked down.
Everyone stopped in front of a stool, and sitting on the top, was a raggedy old hat. It looked similar to the one that the woman was wearing, but this one was patched and old.
ÒI will call off your names, please come up to the chair, and I will place the sorting hat onto your head.Ó She picked up the hat and pulled out a piece of parchment.
"Abgail, Trinity!"
A small pale little girl walked up to the stool and sat down. The woman placed the hat onto her head, and it began to move.
"Ahh...hmm...better be...hmm...RAVENCLAW!" The hat shouted.
The Ravenclaw table cheered immensely as she sat down.
"Aburne...Katarina!"
Kat froze for a second. She gulped and walked over to the stool. She sat down, and the hat was placed on her head. The room was dead silent. The hat said nothing. Kat looked very scared and nervous. She closed her eyes tightly as the hat began to laugh.
"Oh, of course... Miss Aburne," It started to laugh. "How could I miss this?! GRYFFINDOR!" It finally said.
The Gryffindor table cheered. She smiled as the hat was removed from her head. She sat down next to a tall older student, with stunning red hair.
"Brookshire, Anju!"
Anju looked just as frightened as Kat had. She took in a deep breath and walked to the stool. She sat down on the stool and looked at the hat being placed on her head. The began to talk right away.
"Ah...good heart...nice pride...GRYFFINDOR!"
Kat smiled and opened a seat up for her as the table cheered.
The sorting continued with Bachel, Rich, to Stevens, Albert.
"Weasley, Percy!"
The hat was placed upon the orange haired boy. It laughed.
"A Weasley! I know where you should go...GRYFFINDOR!"
The table cheered. Kat watched as the next name was called.
"Wood, Oliver!"
Kat stopped dead as the room went silent again. She watched him walk up to the chair, looking confident. He sat on the stool as the hat was placed onto his head.
"Ah...I see... most definite. GRYFFINDOR!"
Kat couldn't stop her grin. She put her hand over her mouth as he took a seat across from her, smiling. The sorting was over, and a man sitting in the center chair of the staff table stood up and began to speak.
"Welcome to Hogwarts first year students. The feast will begin momentarily, when it is over, your house prefects will show you around and give you the passwords to the dorms." He waved his hand across the tables, and they immediately filled with scrumptious food. Everyone began to eat.
Kat couldn't stop herself from looking at Oliver. He started to talk to everyone around him. He paused as he looked at Kat.
"Have I met you somewhere?"
Kat tried not to scream it out.
"I think I saw you in Diagon Alley...we ran into each other."
"Oh! Yes! That's it... I never caught your name."
"Katarina Aburne, Kat."
He held out his hand.
"Wood, Oliver." He smiled as she shook his hand.
Kat beamed at him. They exchanged looks for a moment before Anju nudged her. It was time to go up to the common rooms.
They were led down a long hall, covered with ancient paintings of people, animals, everything. Kat watched as the paints talked to each other and waved to them. This was rather amusing. They arrived in front of a tall portrait of a rather fat woman, wearing an odd looking pink frilled dress. She spoke in a heavy and deep voice.
"Password?"
A tall, older boy, who was leading them upstairs, spoke.
"Quilliet Tricket." He spoke with such fluency with the odd words.
The portrait door opened immediately, revealing a dark pathway. He walked in casually, leading all the new arrivals inside. At the end of the hall was a large room, which the boy called the "common room." There were tables, chairs, couches, and a beautiful fireplace that was roaring with red flames. The room got more crowded as everyone entered.
"The boys' dorm is down the hall, to your left. The girls is to your right. You will find all your belongings already in the dorm room."
He went off and began to chat immensely with another Gryffindor boy. Anju dragged Kat over to go and see their dorm rooms. It was a very large room, piled high with trunks of all the new Gryffindor ladies. Kat sat on her bed, by a large glass window, looking over the big open field she had seen earlier. She found a set of robes with a lion, the Gryffindor mascot, laying on her bed, as well as a red and gold scarf and gloves. She got all of her supplies prepared for the next day, and got all of her things organized in her larger trunk at the foot of her bed. Much more luxury than a cot. She thought.
She sat in bed and wrote down in her journal, a present from Anju to her. It was brown leather bound, and the pages were lined in a pretty gold. She loved to record her day in the journal. She thought that was the greatest idea in the world. She sat in her bed and stared at the ceiling. She found herself asleep in just a matter of minutes. She awoke the next morning, very early, very, very early, with Anju shaking her awake.
"Kat! Hurry and get up!"