Disclaimer: See Chapter 1
The Misplaced Potter
Chapter 9
In which our hero is sorted
Chris, Henry, Hermione, and Maggie were giving their robes some last minute adjustments when the Hogwarts Express gave one final lurch and then stopped at the Hogsmead/Hogwarts station. They could hear the hiss of the released boiler steam and the groan of the carriages coming to rest. The corridor instantly filled with excitedly jabbering students.
Henry thought that the robes were silly but he chalked it up to another Hogwarts tradition. Second hand or not, Chris wore his plain black robe with style. It made him look like a judge whereas Henry was sure he looked like a boy with his head sticking out of the top of a sack.
Hermione took it upon herself to inspect each of them.
"You need to take off your blue cap and put on your black hat, Henry," she told him as she straightened his tie. "Is the horseshoe supposed to be for good luck, by the way?"
"Naw, it's just the logo of an American football team," Henry said tossing his Colts cap into the garment bag and zipping it back up. He eyed the pointed hat resting on the bench with distain.
"You won't look foolish when everyone else is wearing one," Hermione reassured him when she caught his expression.
"I'm gonna hold you to that," Henry grumbled as he jammed the hat on his head.
"Leave all your luggage on the train," a voice cried out over the din.
"Well, that's one less bother anyway," Chris said. "As long as the train doesn't leave here with my bags still on it."
Maggie laughed. "The house elves never leave anything behind including some things that kids try to ditch before entering school grounds."
"House elves?" Hermione asked.
"They're the castle servants," Maggie answered. "They do all of the cooking and cleaning and the like at Hogwarts. They often babysat me when I was little. I liked that because they were the only people at Hogwarts that were my size at the time."
"They're not very tall, then?" Hermione asked.
"No," Maggie replied. "The tallest of them will come only up to my chest and as you can see I'm the shortest one here by nearly a head."
"It seems wrong to ask such small creatures to do so much work," Hermione said with concern.
"Don't worry about that. They're like Henry here," Maggie answered. "They're short but very, very strong. Plus their magic is very potent."
"Then why are they servants?" asked Hermione.
"Because they choose to be, of course," Maggie replied as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"Ah, girls, as fascinating as this conversation is," Chris said. "I feel obliged to point out that the corridor is now empty."
"We better hurry or we'll miss the boats," Maggie said as she opened the compartment door.
With Maggie in the lead, they scampered down the corridor and out into the night. Henry was glad of the robe when he felt the unexpected chill of the night on his face. Maggie quickly scanned the deserted station. She heard Hagrid's voice in the distance.
"Hurry, the others are already walking down the pathway," she cried. "Hagrid is leading them to the boats."
The other three discovered that, short legs of not, Maggie ran like a greyhound. With hands on hats, they followed her as best as they could.
"Be careful," Maggie called back as darkness swallowed her. "The path is rather slippery."
"Pitch black and slippery," Hermione said between gasps. "What more do you need?"
The trail was dark and narrow. Gnarled tree branches formed an awning that repulsed all efforts of the moon to shine light upon the ground. Fortune smiled upon them however and they soon found themselves down the path and on the shoreline without mishap. Chris and Hermione were breathing so hard that they failed to notice Hogwarts Castle rising up in its shimmering glory on the far side of the lake. Henry, who was used to running a lot, stood there in awe of its beauty.
"They're all here, Hagrid," Maggie said.
"Help them into a boat and we'll be off then," Hagrid chuckled.
With some clumsiness, the four latecomers managed to climb safely into a small boat. It was one of a small fleet of similar boats.
"Forward." Hagrid shouted as soon as their bottoms hit the seats.
At his command, every boat silently left the shore and began its journey across the still lake to the castle. Chris and Hermione, who were city dwellers, found the vast mountain lake with its starry canopy slightly intimidating despite its natural beauty. A tired Henry eased back as much as he could. The night sky was an old friend of his. He smiled knowing that the same stars that shone down on him would soon shine for his parents. He did not feel so far from home at that moment.
Maggie was coming home after nearly a month gone. She had enjoyed visiting America and seeing its natural wonders but she was glad to be back in her beloved Highlands. She looked at the other boats trying to spot Bess and Bridget. They were going to join the other first year students at the station and the three of them were going to ride across the lake together. She felt a pang of guilt that she has fouled up the idea.
"This isn't all of the Hogwarts students, is it?" Henry asked snatching Maggie from her search.
"No," Maggie answered. "Only the first years arrive this way. Everyone else travels to the castle by carriage."
"Another tradition?" Henry asked.
"That's right," Maggie replied.
They felt the boat change direction slightly. The small fleet was reforming itself into a long line as the headed for a cliff.
"Watch ye heads," Hagrid called out as he vanished through a curtain of ivy.
They passed through the vines that were hiding an opening in the cliff face. They traveled down a dark tunnel that reminded every muggleborn of a carnival ride. As far as they traveled, Henry knew that they had to be under the castle itself.
"I can see some light up ahead," Hermione said.
Within moments, the boats were out of the tunnel and spreading out in the waters of a grotto ringed by a rocky beach. Each boat firmly beached itself on the smooth stones of the shore but did so without any shock. Hagrid, who Henry saw clearly for the first time, was a huge man. He stood at least twelve feet tall and Henry could not even begin to guess how much he weighed. Despite his bulk, he moved easily. Holding a lantern above his head, he led the party of children up a flight of stone stairs.
"Follow me," he said in a booming but friendly voice that reverberated off the grotto walls.
At the top of the stairs, Henry and the others found themselves on a part of the lawns at the base of the castle itself. There was another short flight of steps leading to a massive oak door set in the castle wall.
"Is everyone here?" Hagrid asked.
Almost every kid had to suppress the desire to cry "No."
Hagrid mounted the stairs and knocked three times with his huge fist.
The doors swung open and Professor McGonagall glided out. She was wearing robes of deep green and a tall pointed black hat. Henry immediately saw that the friendly old woman who had visited his home in Kentucky and who had been so helpful in Diagon Alley was not here. In her place, there was a teacher who told you, without saying a word, that she would brook no nonsense.
'The firs' years, professor," Hagrid said with a slight bow.
"Thank you, Hagrid," she replied formally. "I will take them into my charge, now."
Notwithstanding his excitement of arriving at Hogwarts, Henry felt his mind begin to drift. The jet lag, the time change, and the long train trip were taking their toll. He could feel the last of his vim drain from his body. He listened with only half a mind as Professor McGonagall led them to an antechamber and lectured them about the houses and the point system.
Through a fog, he became aware of someone saying something to him.
"What?" he asked groggily.
"I said come on. We are going into the great hall for the sorting ceremony," Chris replied.
"I thought that Professor McGonagall was still speaking," a confused Henry said, as he fell into step with Chris at the end of the long line of marching first years.
"Cuz, that was ten minutes ago," Chris chuckled. "You fell asleep leaning up against the wall."
"Did I miss anything important?" Henry asked anxiously.
"No, not really," his cousin said. "The arrival of some ghosts was pretty cool but you'll be seeing those every day according to Maggie."
Henry thought that his cousin was pulling his leg until he caught sight of three silvery specters floating along the far wall. The students ahead of them were spreading out before a slightly raised dais. An old disreputable pointed hat was resting on a stool in the forefront of the dais. Professor McGonagall stood behind it.
"The Sorting Hat," Chris said unnecessarily.
The hat suddenly straightened and it began to sing. It had a surprisingly good if comical voice. A large rip near where the crown joined the brim acted as a mouth.
The song was a lively tune. The hat bragged about itself for a few verses then it sang about in which of the four houses it would place you. In the midst of the tune, Hermione silently joined them. She, Henry, and Chris along with the rest of the students and faculty rewarded the hat at the end of his song with loud cheers and applause.
Henry searched the pack of first years for Maggie. He finally saw her at the edge of the crowd talking to two girls. The conversation was quiet but very animated with a lot of hand gestures and arm waving. Henry could not hear most of what they were saying and what few words his ears did pick up, he did not understand.
"They must be speaking Scottish," Henry thought. "If there is such a thing."
"It's called Gaelic, Henry," Hermione said. "It is the traditional language of Scotland although not many Scots speak it anymore."
"Uh, thank you," Henry said slightly flustered because he had not realized that he had spoken his thought aloud.
Professor McGonagall stepped forward as the hat was bowing to everyone. In one hand, she held a scroll.
"When I call you name," she said. "You will come up here and sit on the stool. You shall then place the hat on your head and be sorted. Abbott, Hannah."
"And we're off," Chris whispered.
"Hufflepuff," the hat announced a moment after the hat slid over the girl's head.
The table to Henry's right burst into applause as Hannah leaped off the dais and ran toward them.
"Bones, Susan" Professor McGonagall called.
"You'll be near the end, cuz," Chris whispered as Susan Bones stepped onto the dais.
"Oddly enough, we use the same alphabet in Kentucky so I kinda reckoned that," Henry whispered back causing his cousin to laugh.
Henry looked around. He saw Barbara, now dressed in her black robe, standing to one side of the hall talking to an older woman. When Barbara noticed Henry had seen her she beckoned to him. As discretely as possible, Henry detached himself from the group and made his way over to where she was waiting.
"This is the boy, Madame Pomfrey," Barbara said. "I should have waited but he was in a lot of pain. Show her your hand, Henry."
Madame Pomfrey took Henry's hand into her own. Henry could feel the calluses on the healer's hands but her touch was as gentle as a breeze. She carefully examined Henry asking him to move his fingers once.
"I would have been disappointed in you if you had done anything short of healing him, Barbara," Madame Pomfrey said. "This is fine work. Very fine work. I wish we could go ahead and send you to St. Mungo's now. Well, young man, you were lucky that Barbara was on hand to correct fruits of your folly."
"Yes, ma'am," Henry said. "I know that. Thanks again, Barbara."
"You're welcome, again," Barbara said.
"You may rejoin the others now, young man," Madame Pomfrey said.
Henry walked back to Chris and Hermione but he paid scant attention to the sorting ceremony. Almost every kid in the great hall was a total stranger so in what room he or she was going to sleep tonight did not pique Henry's interest. He let his eyes wander about him. There was no ceiling or, at least, it appeared so. Overhead, the night sky stretched from wall to wall. Henry knew that it was cold outside and it was warm in the great hall so he thought that the ceiling must be another illusion like the barrier at platform 9 ¾. Hundreds of candles that hung in midair without any means of support provided light for the room. Curiously, no wax dripped from the candles.
"Gallatin, Christopher."
Henry quickly snapped his eyes back to the stage. Chris gracefully mounted the dais. His hand moved inconsequentially but as he sat down, his robe did not bunch up. The hat scarcely touched his head before it shouted, "Gryffindor!"
Henry was surprised. The way Maggie had described the houses, Henry was certain that his brainy cousin would wind up in Ravenclaw.
"There are things that I don't know about Chris, I guess," Henry thought to himself as he applauded.
"Granger, Hermione"
Henry grinned. Whereas Christopher had mounted the dais with a show of dignity, Hermione charged it in enthusiasm almost snatching the hat from Professor McGonagall.
"Gryffindor!" the hat shouted.
Hermione walked to the end of the stage where Christopher was waiting. Curious as to where she would go, he had not yet joined his new housemates. He gave her a dazzling smile as she clasped his extended hand and stepped off the stage. Together they walked over to the cheering Gryffindor table.
"Get married already why don't you," a tall lanky red headed boy behind Henry grumbled.
Maggie and her friends joined Henry. "We're getting close." She said quietly as a kid named Longbottom was called for.
"Henry," Maggie continued. "These are my best friends in the whole world, Bess and Bridget MacNarney. They live in Hogsmeade just beyond the school grounds. This is Henry Porter of whom I spoke."
"Hi," Henry said.
"How do ya do?" the MacNarney sisters asked in a Scottish burr even more pronounced then Maggie's accent. They were stout, freckled faced, blue-eyed, redheaded twins of medium height. Henry got the immediate impression that the MacNarney girls were live wires.
"MacNarney, Bridget."
"Did they forget about you?" Henry asked Bess as Bridget walked to the stage.
"Of course not, ya daft lad," she said punching his arm lightly. "Bess is but a nickname, don't ya know. Me name is Elisabeth."
"Hufflepuff!"
Bess walked over to the steps to both hug her sister and get ready for her turn. Maggie walked over with her.
"MacNarney, Elisabeth."
'This makes you wish that your name was aardvark, doesn't it," the red headed boy asked.
"Yeah," a sleepy Henry agreed.
"Hufflepuff!" the hat cried causing the MacNarney sisters and Maggie to squeal in delight.
"Cor Blimey," said the redhead in response to the pain inducing octaves that the three girls hit.
"McGonagall, Margaret."
"We may want our fingers in our ears for this one," Henry said. "Just in case."
"Hufflepuff!"
Even with his ears covered, Henry heard the squeaky shouts of joy of the three life-long friends clearly. Maggie leaped off the stage into the arms of the twins and the three of them preceded hop around in a group hug. Arms linked together they ran over to the Hufflepuff table.
Professor McGonagall struggled to maintain her stern façade but she could not keep an indulgent smile from her lips as she watched the girls. With a visible effort, she returned to the task at hand. Henry, once again, let his mind drift away as a kid named Mott was called for.
"Mister Porter!"
"Yes?"
"Would you care to discover to what house you belong?" Professor McGonagall asked him sardonically holding the hat in her hand.
Henry realized that he had all but fallen asleep again and had missed hearing his name called. With the hall was ringing with laughter, he mounted the stage.
"Sorry." he said as he sheepishly sat down on the stool.
Professor McGonagall dropped the hat on his head. Henry's world immediately went black as the hat slid over his eyes. Out of the darkness came a rumbling chuckle that Henry recognized as the voice of the sorting hat.
"Well, well, well, it is he who is hidden in plain sight. Where do you belong? Clever, I see, yes, and intelligent, too. Courage in abundance. Tenacious and patient. You would do well no matter where I place you."
"So what's it gonna be?" Henry silently asked.
"Hufflepuff!"
Henry blinked at the sudden return of light. He nodded once at Professor McGonagall and carefully stepped off the stage. He waved to his cousin and Hermione and then walked over to the Hufflepuff table. Maggie, Bess, and Bridget immediately swarmed him.
"I got my oldest friends and my newest friend with me," Maggie gushed. "This is more than super."
There were only four kids left to sort but Henry gave up the struggle. He laid his head down on the table and fell asleep.