Chapter four – Departure and Sorting
September first arrived in a flurry of activity in the Dratton household. Daniel was excited to be finally going to Hogwarts and seeing his new friend Severus again. Now with all his belongings packed up in his trunk in the car, they could finally get to platform 9 and ¾ .
The car ride to the train station went in relative silence, and before he knew it they had arrived at Kings Cross Station. Once there, Mr. Dratton packed all of his belongings onto a cart. "Remember, the platform is located between the barrier of platforms 9 and 10. Just walk through the wall," Mrs. Dratton called out just as he was leaving.
Once everyone had said their goodbyes, he slowly made his way towards platform 9 and ¾, quickly looking around to be sure no muggles would see him as he aimed his trolly at the barrier, closed his eyes and ran toward it. He had half expected to crash into the wall, but where he felt there should have been a nasty impact he just kept going. Slowly, he opened his eyes to find a platform filled with children and their parents, all talking excitedly. Just beyond the children Daniel could see what could only be described as the most beautiful steam engine he had ever seen. It was a beautiful deep red in colour and had the words the 'Hogwarts Express' printed on the front.
Slowly, Daniel moved forward and entered the train, looking around for an empty compartment. Finding one, he packed away his trunk and owl and took a seat, hoping Severus would find him before the train left.
"Hello, may I sit in here? Everywhere else is full," a pretty young girl with red hair asked him.
"Ah, sure. I'm waiting for a friend of mine but I'm sure he wouldn't mind sharing. My name's Daniel Jackson, by the way," Daniel told her as she took the seat opposite him.
"My name's Lily Evans. So are you muggle-born or pure-blood, not that it matters, I'm muggle-born, before I got my Hogwarts letter I'd never heard of the wizarding world before, what about you?" Lily asked in a rush.
"Ah, I'm muggle-born. I think. I'm not sure though as I'm living with a foster family and I don't know a lot about my parents before that," he replied uneasily. He wasn't sure how he felt about this girl asking all these questions, but she seemed to be genuinely interested.
"Oh. What happened to your parents?"
"They died in an accident when I was eight. Look, I know you don't mean anything by it, but could we talk about something else?"
"I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking, sure we can talk about something else. So who's this mysterious friend of yours?" Lily asked, feeling like a total prat for bringing up obviously painful memories for Daniel.
"That would be me. I'm Severus Snape. And you are?" Severus asked in a slightly snooty voice.
"Lily Evans. It's nice to meet you, Severus."
Once everyone had been introduced they all sat down and talked about themselves, getting to know each other better, and by the time the lolly cart arrived they were all friends. Putting their money together, they bought the whole trolly out of lollies.
"Hey, what's this?" Daniel asked, opening up the small box.
"Careful with it, it's a Chocolate Frog. They actually jump. They also have collectable cards in them," Severus replied, grabbing the frog before it had escaped.
For the remainder of the journey the trio sat eating lollies and talking about what they thought they could expect at Hogwarts.
"Guys, we better get changed into our robes, we're almost there," Lily reminded them. "I'll go into another compartment and change, then I'll come back," she said as she grabbed her robes and exited the compartment in search of a place to change.
Once she had left, both boys quickly scrambled to quickly change into their robes before she returned. Not long after they had changed, Lily returned. About half an hour later, the train pulled to a stop at Hogsmeade Station. Once there, the trio quickly exited the train to be met with a booming voice. "Firs' Year's, Firs' Year's o'er 'ere." Looking up, they noticed a large man. He stood about double the height of an average man. He was huge. Quickly, they followed the man down to the water's edge where several small boats waited for them. "Four to a boat," the large man called out.
Quickly, the three climbed into a boat with another girl. Once everyone was seated in a boat the huge man called out forward, and as soon as he did the boats started to move towards the castle slowly.
Once the boats reached the other side of the lake, the students stood waiting for the Deputy Headmistress.
While waiting outside the doors to the Great Hall, a young boy with long white blonde hair approached the trio. "Well, what do we have here? A Snape with two mudbloods? Wait till your father hears about this. You'll be a disgrace to the Snape line. You are better than them. If you don't associate with them any more your father will never have to know," the boy spat out at them with what could only be described as hatred.
"Lucius Malfoy. These two /mudbloods/ as you put it are far better people than you will ever be, and I couldn't care less what my father thinks. Oh, and Lucius, if I ever find you calling my friends Mudbloods or giving them a hard time in any way, you will wish you were dead. Understood?" Severus positively radiated anger at him.
Before Lucius could say anything else, the doors opened to reveal the Deputy Headmistress of the school.
"Welcome to Hogwarts. While here, you will be sorted into four houses, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Slytherin, and Ravenclaw. While here, your house groups will be like your family. You will, eat, sleep and go to classes with you fellow classmates. Points will be awarded and deducted from your house when rules are broken or you excel in something. Now form two lines and follow me."
Once the deputy had finished speaking, they entered the great hall. Daniel looked up at the ceiling in awe; it looked as if there was no ceiling. You could see the sky outside when you looked at the roof. "Wow. Look at the ceiling, Lily," Daniel whispered in awe.
"It's charmed to look like the weather outside. I read it in /Hogwarts: A History/" Lily replied, looking somewhat proud of herself.
Once all the first years were inside the hall, a ratty looking old hat was brought out on a stool. Once there, 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 Gryffindor 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 folk 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!/
As the sorting hat finished its song, the hall burst into applause. Once the noise had died down, the Deputy Headmistress pulled out a piece of parchment and started reading out the names on the list.
"Black, Sirius." As Sirius' name was called, he sat on the stool and placed the hat on his head. After about a minute, the hat called out, "GRYFFINDOR!" The pattern continued in the same way for the remainder of the students.
"Evans, Lily." Lily was nervous. She desperately wanted to be with her other friends but was also eager to find out what house she was to be in. Once the hat was placed on her head, she heard a whisper in her ear as the Hat spoke to her, 'Well, what have we here? You are brave, yes, you would do great in Gryffindor, but what do we have here? A passion for learning, a hard worker. Yes I know where to put you now.'
"RAVENCLAW!" Quickly pulling the hat off her head, she quickly ran over to her house table.
"Jackson, Daniel." Daniel had been nervous, but as soon as his name was called out, he became petrified. He just hoped he wouldn't be separated from Severus and Lily. Quickly pushing his fears aside, Daniel walked up to the stool while placing the hat on his head. As soon as the hat touched his head, he heard a voice in his head. 'Oh, you are an easy one aren't you? Very willing to learn, a genius in the muggle world. Yes, I know where to put you.'
"RAVENCLAW!" the hat yelled out. Quickly, Daniel ran over to where Lily was seated.
"I hope Severus is with us," he whispered to Lily as he sat down.
"Lupin, Remus."
"GRYFFINDOR!"
"Malfoy, Lucius."
"SLYTHERIN!"
"Pettigrew, Peter."
"GRYFFINDOR!"
"Potter, James."
"GRYFFINDOR!"
"Snape, Severus." Severus looked up as his name was called. He wanted to be with his friends but he was a Snape, and Snapes were always in Slytherin. If he was with his friends in Ravenclaw, who knew what his father would do to him. As he placed the hat on his head, he wished it would be over with as soon as possible. 'Well, what have we here, another Snape? Ah, you wish to be with your friends in Ravenclaw, but no you would not do well there, I know just where to put you.'
"SLYTHERIN!" With that, Snape knew his life had changed. Whether it was for the better was still to be decided. As he made his way to the Slytherin table, he waved at his friends.
Once the feast was done, the prefects escorted Daniel, Lily and the rest of the Ravenclaw first years to the Ravenclaw tower where a portrait of a woman reading by the ocean came into view.
"Password," The portrait questioned.
"Shakespeare. First years, don't forget the password," the Ravenclaw prefect told them.
Daniel was exhausted. He had had a very tiring day and was looking forward to a good night's sleep. Once inside the common room, Daniel said goodnight to Lily and made his way up to bed.
Climbing into bed, Daniel thought of what the next day would bring. With that, he fell asleep, exhausted with the day's activities.
TBC
Hope you enjoy please read and review. Aussie Mel