Disclaimer – I borrowed some ideas for this chapter from "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" which is JKR's. Bits you don't recognise are mine. Simple!
~*~
In the name of Helga: Year One
shewhodares
Crossing the Lake
~*~
The small waiting area of Hogsmeade Station was crammed with students – some returning for another year, who separated from the crowd and were led en masse in another direction to some awaiting carriages. The excited chatter that had defined the train journey slowly disappeared, until on the platform remained around forty young people who lingered in the still night air. The darkness wrapped around them like a blanket, and the dim glow of the Station's lights did nothing to help them see – until a lamp that rose a few feet above their heads added to their number.
Holding it was the strangest man Sally-Anne Perks had ever seen. He was at least seven or eight feet tall, with shoulders as broad as she was tall. His massive frame was covered in a ratty brown overcoat, and only his thick bushy beard matched the caterpillar-like eyebrows that lined the top of his face. He spoke to them with a voice that could have been heard right in the centre of the village.
"Firs'-years! Firs'-years over here! Follo' me!"
Struggling to keep up with the man's massive strides, Sally whispered to the boy who she'd been sitting with on the train. It was Julian Fortescue, who had shown Sally where to buy her school things.
"Who on earth's that? He's enormous!"
Julian found it a great effort to run with the group and talk to her at the same time. "My brother told me about him. His name's Hagrid, I think" he panted. "Gamekeeper or something." It seemed as though Hagrid was leading them all down a steep hill, and every so often Sally and Julian had to pause as they felt their way down in the gloom. "I could have found out about him myself, pity he didn't tell me about this stupid hill instead".
Sally-Anne agreed with him and carried on sliding down the hill on the soles of her feet.
It wasn't long before the new first-years all bunched up together again, as Hagrid suddenly stopped and called to them. "Yeh'll get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec, jus' round this bend here" he said as the followed him round a huge tree.
It could easily have felt clichéd, but Sally-Anne and Julian hardly noticed as they and their classmates let out a collective gasp of 'ooh's' and 'aah's'.
They had reached the bottom of the hill and found themselves standing on the pebbly shore of a wide lake, so still that it looked like a sheet of black glass in the moonlight. A line of little wooden boats was moored to a pier, and the eye followed it through to the middle of water, further onward to the huge, craggy rockface that was home to the castle. Majestic in appearance, it ascended up into the sky in a series of towers and brightly-lit windows. Hogwarts – their home for the next seven years.
Hagrid's voice boomed through the clearing again – "No more'n four to a boat!" His fingers, which Sally-Anne thought were decidedly short and stubby for such a large person, gestured excitedly towards the fleet, indicating that they were to get in. She and Julian were accompanied in their boat by two other people who seemed to know each other – a boy with tussled blond hair, and a girl whose red hair was pulled back in a ponytail. Hagrid, of course, had a boat to himself, yet even so its timbers creaked and groaned beneath him as he sat down. "Everyone in?" he yelled to them all, and once satisfied that the students were safely inside, he looked down and appeared to address his boat directly. "Right then – forward!"
The craft carrying the gamekeeper must have been enchanted to lead the way for the others, because as soon as it glided smoothly away from the pier, the others followed it. The groups of four travelled side by side in pairs as they journeyed towards the school. There was a smattering of conversation – a mixture of "I can't wait's" and "What's your name's" – with the blonde and the redhead sharing Sally-Anne and Julian's boat introducing themselves as Ernie and Susan. Surprisingly quickly the boats approached the cliff face, and the foursomes ducked automatically as they were carried through the ivy that curtained off an underground harbour – they didn't need to be told twice by Hagrid, but they were anyway. Once they had clambered out of the little boats (that sailed away again after being vacated), the gigantic man led them up a rocky passageway.
It led to the front door of the castle – a huge oak structure that took three knocks from Hagrid's strong fist to call someone to open it. Most whispering coming from the first-years stopped immediately as they saw the witch who obliged – with her black hair pulled so tightly from her face, she looked even more strict than she actually was. But what really made them take notice was her richly decorated robes of emerald green. Clothes of that colour could mean only one thing – this was Professor McGonagall, the teacher who had written their acceptance letters. Her aura radiated intelligence and seemed to demand respect – so with suitable reverence, the final talkers quietened and waited for her to speak.
~~ * THE END * ~~
A/N: Finally, I manage to write a short chapter! I figured that this part of the book was over quite quickly, so I elaborated a little. Forgive me :) . Next chapter, in case you hadn't guessed, is the sorting and start of term feast – with extra newbies not seen in canon thrown in to boot! (A-hem). There'll also be a contest if I can think of a decent enough challenge.
Seeing as I got this chapter up a day after the last one (a personal record, go me! Mind you the shortness helps ;) ), there's just the one reviewer to thank –
Rachel Perez! I'm so glad you like it. It honestly does motivate me a helluva lot when good fic writers compliment my work. And of course you're right – Kat the Head Girl is of course, none other than Kat Hallowell, who won my first contest. Can you guess who Verity is? ;)
Hey, you never know I might have some more ITNOH written over the weekend if I get the necessary studying done!
Kisses, hugs, and no food or drink 'cos I can't be bothered going to the kitchen –
*~ shewhodares ~*