As the windows darkened, rain began to fall, splattering loudly against the sides of the train. A snack trolley had just passed filled with all sorts of magical sweets. Some I'd recognized, others I hadn't, but as the only money I had was American and of very little use here, I'd bought nothing. I had sat, feeling rather lonely in the corner of the compartment until the twins had started making a game out of finding the most noxious jelly beans they possibly could and inviting others to eat them. I ended up with dirt, something slightly salty and tasteless, which I didn't really want to guess at the flavor of, and chili pepper, which actually wasn't that bad except for the steam that continually billowed out of my ears for the next half hour.
Angelina now suggested we put our robes on, which we did, and then all glanced around at one another, taking in our new appearances. At this point the conversation turned to the four Hogwart's houses, which I knew nothing about.
"O.K., let me get this straight…" Fiona said, addressing Fred and George who apparently had one brother in the third year and one in the seventh.
"There's Gryffindor… Where your brothers are…" They nodded solemnly.
"If we don't get into Gryffindor, I reckon mum will kill us," Fred said.
"Whole family, all the way back, mum and dad too, have all been in Gryffindor," George added.
"And then… What? Um… Huffly-puffle?" Fiona asked.
"No," Lee corrected, "It's Hufflepuff. I heard about them. Bunch of softies apparently… You don't want to end up in there,"
"Yeah, but Slytherin'd be worse," George said darkly.
"Slytherin?" asked Sandy.
"Yep. Our brother, Charlie, he says there isn't a dark wizard anywhere who wasn't in Slytherin back at Hogwarts. Nasty bunch, mum would disown us first and then kill us if we ended up in Slytherin," Fred explained.
"Wait… there's four, isn't there? Which is the fourth one?" I asked.
"Uh… Ravenclaw, I think…" Lee said.
"Yes, dead smart, Bill said you have to be brilliant to end up in there. Wouldn't be too bad I spose. Bit dull, though; probably all really brainy," Fred said.
"So… Bill is in… his seventh year? And Charlie is in his third?" I asked,
"No," George replied, grimacing slightly, "Bill's already graduated. Charlie is in his seventh year and Percy is in his third,"
"They're all spectacular, all three of them. Bill was head boy. Went to his head a bit if you ask me, but he's alright. He works at Gringotts now, just got a job there," Fred said, a note of pride in his voice, "and then there's Charlie, he's Quidditch captain for Gryffindor. He's a fantastic seeker… I hope I can get on the team next year…"
"Percy is a bit of a prat. Really ambitious; I reckon he wants to be minister of magic someday. Anyway, he's always gotten fantastic grades; he'll probably be a prefect in the fifth year. He's never put even a toenail out of line in his entire life," George said, continuing the explanation of his brothers for Fred, who seemed to be dreaming about Quidditch at the moment.
"Well, we sure aren't going to be prefects… And I wouldn't mine putting a toe or more out of line every now and then," Fred said.
"Yeah, I think a bit of mischief is probably exactly what mum and dad need. I mean, three perfect sons, they're bound to get bored eventually." George added, conversationally.
"And I reckon Hogwarts could do with some excitement as well. If Percy is enjoying himself there, it's certain to be rather dull… Anyway, I can promise you, Fred and George Weasley won't be prefects or head boy… Though I wouldn't mind Quidditch captain," Fred said conclusively.
The train was slowing down, and suddenly movement filled the hallways as people scrambled out onto the platform. I quickly shut Fen back in his carrier and brought him, Regal, and my trunk out onto the station. I glanced around, unsure of what to do next and feeling the rain dripping off the end of my ponytail and soaking my robes. Suddenly, a booming voice cut through the chilling rain, calling, "Firs' years! Over here! Firs' years!" A gigantic man carrying a swinging lantern was leading all of us down a steep trail. "Righ', come on now! Follow me, stay close now…"
Slowly, all of us descended the slippery path, covering our faces against the icy rain. The thick foliage on either side of the trail was pitch black, and the stars were invisible behind a dark grey cover of clouds. Up ahead the huge man had stopped, "Alrigh' everyone! In a sec yer goin' ter see yer firs' glimpse of Hogwarts. Jus' round the bend now!" Everyone pushed at one another, leaning forward and trying to see around the corner. Suddenly there were gasps up ahead. I could just barely see, emerging from the haze, the huge stone turrets of an enormous castle. Lights in distant windows glowed warmly against the rain and the castle seemed comforting and friendly, tucked into the hills and across an enormous lake.
"Jus' climb into the boats here, everyone… Four to a boat! I'm Hagrid by the way. Gamekeeper here at Hogwarts," I scrambled down the sand toward the boat. Again I was unsure who to sit with and I looked nervously at the rapidly filling boats. Then, however, Angelina grabbed my arm and pulled me into a boat with the twins.
"Blimey, That's… big," George said, looking at the castle.
"All the more room to explore!" Fred said jovially, and with that the group of boats moved forward across the lake.
Soon Hagrid called "Watch yer heads!" and all of the boats made their way through a curtain of ivy into a large cave set in the side of a cliff. We continued to float slowly through a wide tunnel, all of us very relieved to be out of the rain. Eventually the boats reached the shore. We seemed to be in a sort of dimly lit, cavernous harbor. Hagrid lead everyone up a set of stone steps. Once more, the driving rain was pounding into our faces, but luckily a large wooden door had just opened to admit everyone. We marched into a huge entrance hall, dripping wet and glancing around nervously.
A strict looking woman stood in front of all of us waiting for the whispers to die down. "Welcome to Hogwarts everyone. Please follow me…" She lead us down the enormous hallway and into a smaller room with a merry fire place crackling in the hearth. Quickly everyone crowded around it, trying to dry their soaking robes.
"My name is Professor McGonagall. In a moment, you will join our older students in the start of term feast. First, however, you must be sorted into houses. The sorting of new students is very important as your house will become a sort of family for you while you are here at Hogwarts. You will dine in the Great Hall with your house, you will have classes with other members of your year in your house, you will sleep in your house dormitory and spend most of your free time in your house common room. The four houses are Slytherin, Ravenclaw, Gryffindor, and Hufflepuff. Each has produced superb witches and wizards and each, in turn has won the house cup. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will win your house points, while any mischief will lose points for your house. Whichever house has the most points at the end of the year will win the house cup, which is a great honor. I hope that all of you will be a credit to your new houses. Now… The sorting ceremony will begin in a few moments. I shall return for you when it is time,"
And with that, she left the room, leaving a lot of nervous whispering behind her. "What do you reckon we have to do?" Lee was asking Fred and George.
"I dunno… I don't think Bill or Charlie ever mentioned it," George replied, somewhat nervously.
"Relax… They all passed it, whatever it is. Can't be too hard, can it?" Fred said confidently.
"What do you think it is?" Angelina asked me.
"I don't know. Do you think it's some sort of test?" She shrugged, nervously straightening her robes.
"I hope not. I haven't learned any magic yet,"
Fiona turned to us, "How does my hair look?" she asked, "Sandy says her sister told her it's in front of the whole school!"
This bit of information caused even more anxious murmuring amongst the others. Suddenly, Professor McGonagall entered the room once more. "Please form a line and follow me!" she said. I stepped into line behind the Weasleys and Angelina, with Fiona and Sandy behind me. We once more entered the hall and followed Professor McGonagall to a pair of huge double doors, behind which we could hear the whispering of the rest of the school.
"This is it!" Sandy said breathlessly. I nervously ran my fingers through my own hair, wondering what we would be required to do. With a sweeping gesture, Professor McGonagall threw open the doors and lead us into the Great Hall.