Chapter 4: Sorted
Phoebe's POVI hopped off the train and was immediately pushed into the crowd as I started to get swept away. I tried moving against the flow to get to wherever Harry and Ron ended up but it proved to be a lot harder than I would have thought possible.
"First years this way," I heard someone call out and I looked around for the source of the voice. I spotted Hagrid and saw Harry standing by him. I shoved my way through the crowd of people and stopped next to Harry.
"There ya are, wondered what happened to you," Harry said smiling.
"Got lost in the crowd," I said smiling and rolling my eyes slightly.
"Sure you did. You were probably trying to ditch the first years," Harry replied jokingly.
"Yep, exactly what I want, to have absolutely no idea what's going on when everyone around me does."
"Sounds good to me," Harry said and we burst out laughing.
"Alright you lot, lets go," Hagrid, who was leading the first years, said.
All the first years hesitantly fell in behind the giant form of Hagrid and followed him. Most of the first years were having great difficulties keeping up. We walked on until we stopped at a huge lake with tons of boats docked at the coast. They looked like they'd fit four or five of the first years, but Hagird would probably need a boat to himself. We loaded up the boats, Hagrid of course taking a boat all to himself. I loaded a boat with three people I didn't know, Harry and Ron getting a boat along with Hermione and Neville. I mainly kept to myself on the boat ride across the lake, deciding I'd rather not converse with the others in the boat when I heard the direction their conversation was headed. I figured they'd be in Slytherin, or at least the two who seemed to be enjoying the conversation would be, I wasn't so sure about the other girl in he boat. When the boats reached the other side of the lake we got off of them. When I got off the boat I went over to find Harry and Ron.
"Have fun on the boat?" Ron asked.
"Oh, yeah, loads and loads," I said rolling my eyes.
"Where were you anyway?" Harry asked curiously.
"Two people I don't want to be around and another I'm not completely sure about," I said shrugging slightly and looking disinterested.
"Well better than our lot I'm sure," Ron said laughing slightly.
"I highly doubt it," I said glaring at him, "and by the way, that wasn't a very nice thing to say." I said stalking off to go talk to Hermione and Neville for the rest of the walk.
"Hey," I said brightly walking up to them, "Neville right, and Hermione?"
"Yea," they said smiling back at me.
"And you're Phoebe, right?" Hermione replied.
"Yep that's me," I said smiling wider.
"You're way too perky right now," Neville said a little nervously.
"Sorry, usually am, I'll try and tone it down a notch," I said shrugging slightly.
"That'd be nice," Neville said starting to become a little less nervous as the conversation progressed.
"I had no problem with it, oh well," Hermione said shrugging.
We started laughing as we came up to the castle door. Everyone became hushed as Hagrid knocked on the door. We heard it creak open and a stern looking witch answered the door.
"The first years Minerva," Hagrid said smiling.
"Thank you Hagrid," she said and turned to us. "Follow me please," she said and turned around, starting to walk away into the castle. All the first years hesitantly followed her inside. We passed by huge doors were inside you could hear the load roars of voices. We didn't go in there however but continued on past it, stopping after what seemed like a far too long walk.
Minerva stopped and spun around, making the first years stop abruptly and some run into others. "I am Professor McGonagall and welcome to Hogwarts. In a few moments you will be lead into the Great Hall where you will be sorted into your schoolhouses. While here your houses will be like your families. You're triumphs will earn you points, any rule breaking and you will loose points. The four houses are Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, Gryffindor, and Slytherin. I will be back in a moment to lead you to the Great Hall to be sorted."
With that little speech out of the way she took off, leaving a bunch of scared first years behind. Harry and Ron where up front, but I was farther back with Hermione and Neville. I'd catch up with Harry and Ron later; I was a better friend with them at the moment, well Harry anyway, having known him longer.
"So what do you think we'll have to do to get sorted?" Hermione asked Neville and me.
"Beats me," I said shrugging slightly.
"Guess we'll just have to find out when the time comes won't we," Neville said emotionlessly.
"Which house do you all wanna be in?" I asked excitedly.
"I don't really know," Hermione, answered clearly thinking hard about it.
"I'd like…"Neville started but had to stop as Professor McGonagall came back looking as stern as ever.
"If you'll come with me," she said and turned around, heading off toward the Great Hall.
We followed her until we came to the large doors I had seen earlier. We stopped when we reached them and then Professor McGonagall opened them up. When we entered the room everyone stopped talking, falling dead silent immediately. There where four tables with students and one up front that the teachers where seated at. We were lead up front where we stood facing the rest of the students. Also up front with us was a stool, which had an old worn out looking hat, placed upon it. We stood up front completely confused until all of a sudden the hat came to life and started singing. I was so socked that I caught almost none of his song as I stood there gawking at it. When it had finished the whole student body exploded in applause.
The sorting was started by Professor McGonagall who had a roll of parchment with all of the first year's names written, or spelled, onto it. When my name was called I hesitantly went up and sat on the stool. I felt the hat being placed on my head and then it slipped down past my eyes so I was left in darkness.
"Interesting," I heard in my head and jumped slightly. "I think I know exactly where to put you…GRYFFINDOR"
I let out a sigh of relief as the Gryffindor table erupted in applause and the hat was lifted off my head. I got off the stool and headed over to the table that had erupted in monstrous applause. I grabbed a seat next to Hermione who had been sorted into Gryffindor before me. I received a few congratulations as I sat down and then I turned back to watch the rest of the sorting, mainly to see what house Ron and Harry would be sorted into. I applauded and shouted as loud as I could when the sorting hat sorted Ron and Harry into Gryffindor. I congratulated them as they grabbed a seat across from me. The rest of the sorting went by in a blur; I was only half paying attention to people's names and houses. What seemed like an eternity later, the last person was sorted and everyone was seated silently in his or her seats.
"Welcome first years, and welcome back to everyone else," Professor Dumbledore said getting up. My head shot toward his voice so that I was looking at him and I placed my head in one of my hands, getting bored from his speech almost instantly. Professor Dumbledore started some speech, which I decided to zone out on and get lost in my own thoughts.
"Yo, Phoebe, you in there," someone said. I shook my head and spun it around to see who was talking to me.
"Huh, yeah, sorry, what'd I miss?" I asked Ron.
"Food's here," he said nodding towards the food that was piled in the middle of the table.
I rolled my eyes when I heard the word food. They where just always thinking of food weren't they? I grabbed some food and piled it onto my plate and eating it slowly. It was really good, although I was going to miss Gram's cooking.
"So Phoebe, glad ya got in Gryffindor?" one of the Weasley twins asked.
I shrugged slightly. "I guess, I mean I didn't really know what house I wanted to be in, well other than the fact that I'd probably leave if I had been sorted into Slytherin."
"I think you're in the right house than," the other Weasley twin said jokingly and laughed slightly allowing a slight smile to cross his face.
I smiled back at them and went back to eating my food, switching off between talking with Harry and Ron and Hermione and Neville. When everyone had finished eating all of the plates where cleared from the table and everyone started to get up to head to their respective towers.
"Gryffindor first years follow me," Percy, one of the prefects and Ron's older brother, said confidently.
I stuck by Hermione and Neville on the way up to the tower, talking about nothing in particular, although a lot of the conversation involved discussing what we passed on the way to the tower. When we finally reached the tower we climbed in, Percy told us a few little things and we where sent up to our dormitories to sleep. The next morning we'd start classes and I could not wait.
A/N: Sorry it took so long to update, I'll try and get the next chapter out a whole lot faster next time.
Jadelouise: Here's the way I'm thinking for this fic on where they live. They live at the present in England. Grams still owns the manor however. We'll say that they have not been in England all that long, maybe a couple years. If anyone has a problem with this please let me know and I can come up with some other way to make it work. Thanks for the review I really appreciate it.
Neostar: Thank you for the review, on the matter of Phoebe receiving her power she may or may not, we'll just have to wait and see.