Year One Chapter Four
Kyle walked forward and let McGonagall place the hat on his head.
"Hmmm…." The hat muttered, "You're an interesting one. Which house would you
like to be in?"
"You're saying I have a choice?"
"Yes, yes you do. You're an interesting individual from what I can see in here Mr.
Lewer. Very interesting indeed, you have options before you, yes you do."
Kyle sighed, "And what options would those be?"
"Well for starters you have enough courage to be a Gryffindor."
"How much courage is that really? A lot or just the façade of a lot? Tell me good
hat just how far from the truth is the cowardly lion on their banner?"
"Alright then how about Slytherin? You'll do well in Slytherin."
"Malfoy is an ideal Slytherin isn't he?"
"Yes, yes he is. Why?"
"Oh good well that's a house of derelicts, if Malfoy is the ideal Slytherin, then the
house ideal is failure, cause that's all someone like Malfoy will be able to do in the grand
scheme of things."
"Then there is always Ravenclaw and you do have its greatest trait in spades."
"You're saying I'm conceded."
"If that's what you believe its greatest trait is. And if nothing else I can always just
stick you in Hufflepuff though you and I both know Mr. Lewer that you are far from
compassionate."
Kyle sighed, "So I guess there is only one choice in the end."
"RAVENCLAW!" The hat shouted, and the Ravenclaw table erupted into cheers.
Kyle felt the hat removed from his head, so he got down off the stool and went over
to one of the empty seats at the Ravenclaw table. Ravenclaw swarmed him to welcome him
to the house and things of the sort, but he shooed them away like the crows they were.
Forrest had been called up next, and this sorting was of great interest to Kyle.
Forrest sat on the stool, and let the hat be placed on his head after only a few
moments the hat called out, "RAVENCLAW!"
Which seemed to confuse Forrest greatly, he made his way over and sat down next
to Kyle. Again house members went over and started to pat him on the back and generally
leaving him with no personal space. Which Kyle could tell was bothering him greatly.
Kyle began to wave his arms around Forrest, trying to wave his new housemates
off. "Yes, yes were just as excited to be here as you are to have us but can we please have
some order and maybe some air. This is all very overwhelming at first as I'm sure you
remember."
A couple of the Ravenclaws gave Kyle looks that almost could be defined as
dejected.
"There we go." Kyle smiled, "Now you have some personal space again."
Forrest still seemed upset.
"Ravenclaw wasn't the house for you?"
"No my father would want me to be in Gryffindor, and well I personally thought
I'm a Hufflepuff before anything else."
"Hmmm I wonder why the hat put you in Ravenclaw then."
Forrest sighed, "Apparently one day the hat said I'll do more than my father ever
thought I could here in Ravenclaw. Whatever that means..."
"Well if nothing else at least we won't be completely alone here now. If nothing
else we can hang out with each other."
Forrest chuckled, "I hear that's the whole reason they get you to take the train as
appose to magic you here, to give you the chance to make friends and things for that sort."
"Maybe, oh looks like the Headmaster is gonna speak."
Dumbledore stood up and reminded the students of the rules, the 3rd floor was
certain death, and the dark forest was strictly off limits. Kyle could see that rule almost
personally slapped Forrest though Forrest dismissed such a concept when Kyle asked him
what was wrong.
After the announcements the feast began and food was piled on plate after plate up
and down the Ravenclaw table. Most of it was flavoured more towards the British palate,
and Kyle was trying to decide what he wanted to eat when his eyes caught sight
of…cornbread?
Kyle took a slice off the plate and found it was still warm, just enough that the
butter melted just a bit. Then he also found friend chicken that he hadn't seen before and
next thing he knew he had a good old southern (states) meal like his grandma use to make
him before she passed on sitting in front of him.
Though Kyle could only bring himself to have 1 plate and was kinda disturbed to
see his house mates having their 4th, 5th and in some cases 6th plate before starting on
dessert.
A girl across from Kyle said, "Aren't you gonna have any dessert?"
And while it was true the strawberry cheesecake that sat in front of Kyle looked
almost tempting he shook his head. "No I don't like dessert foods."
She stopped for a moment, and laughed. "You only had a plate during the feast and
now you don't eat dessert, what you strange or something?"
Kyle blinked, "Excuse me? I'm sorry I don't believe I heard you right."
"Well what's wrong with you? I mean really? You should be celebrating, and
having a good time."
Kyle sighed, "I wish I knew where our rooms were so I could just leave."
"What? I'm not picking on you."
Kyle laughed, "No your not, your just so dense that being near you now gives me a
headache. Were you not the one who, not thirty minutes ago, was complaining to her friend
that she was getting fat and now your on your third piece of chocolate cake."
"Yeah and…"
Kyle sat there blinking for a minute, at a complete lose as to what to say, back home
girls would have put two and two together and apologized. Here apparently, at least with
this girl shallow was what you got after it rained…
"Perhaps…" Forrest interjected. "You should meditate on that before either of you
continue this conversation. Also, close your jaw it's rude."
Forrest jokingly pressed Kyle's chin up with finger, though there was no need it was
already closed. Kyle laughed and slapped Forrest on the shoulder.
"You and I are defiantly gonna get along."
Forrest smiled, at least he won't have to go through the school year alone, not
having someone to talk to on top of his home sickness, his job and his 'condition' having
someone that might help him through it made the weight of it all lessen a bit, just a little,
but still it was a great feeling.
To Forrest, Kyle was the most interesting person he had ever met. When they were
lead to the Ravenclaw tower they had to climb the moving staircase, and all the while they
had paintings talking to them. Kyle didn't blink, he actually spent his time asking Forrest
what Canada was like.
But there was one point when they passed an old sword hanging on the wall, and
Kyle broke from the group and stared at it for like 5 minutes before a prefect realized they
were down a student and backtracked to find him and force him to keep up.
Later on it'd be told that there was nothing special about the sword what so ever,
but to Kyle apparently it had been the most intriguing thing the castle he had seen that
night.
When they got to there room, everyone started to unpack. Forrest didn't talk much
to his new roommates, not because he didn't want to. They just for some reason didn't try
to include him in the conversation. Perhaps deep down they could tell?
As for Kyle, they tried to include him but he'd smile give some basic answer and
then turn his back to dig in his trunk. But no matter how hard he tried to not be apart of
their conversation he didn't have much choice when he put up a poster of a man, on a horse
wearing large tattered rags. The light was behind him so he was cast completely in shadow
and you could only see the outline.
"What is that?"
"What is what?" Kyle turned to look, and followed, Brant was his name, Brant's
eyes back to the poster.
"Is it a dementor?"
"A what? Kyle looked confused, "What's a dementor? This is a nazgul."
"Dementors are the monsters that guard the prison of Azkaban. What's a nazgul?"
"What's a NAZGUL? Haven't any of you ever read Tolkien?"
The other three shook there heads.
"Aren't you all British?"
They nodded.
"But you haven't read Tolkien? Well then you shall see what a nazgul is soon
enough.." He had a wry smile on his face as he turned away from the group again and
apparently lost the ability to hear them for the rest of the night because when questioned
further he simply didn't respond.