CHAPTER FIVE: The Sorting Ceremony
Fred and George returned to Ellie's compartment shortly before the train's arrival at Hogwarts. They helped her, Ron, and Harry gather up their luggage and belongings, then led them to a fleet of boats awaiting them on the shoreline.
"We won't be able to go with you," Fred explained as they loaded their luggage onto the valet carts. "Only the first years take boats; the rest of us take the carriages."
Ellie followed his gaze to a series of horseless carriages about a hundred yards away from them, then nodded. "No worries. Thanks for helping us. We'll see you at the feast?"
"Only if you're in Gryffindor!" George teased her as he and Fred took their leave of her.
With the twins gone, Ellie turned her attention toward the giant, hulking figure that Harry was in the midst of hugging.
"Guys," Harry said to Ron and Ellie when he pulled away from the hug, "this is Hagrid. He helped me out with… well, with a lot this summer."
"Pleasure ter meet yeh," said Hagrid warmly to both of them. He had a kind face, with big, bushy brown hair and warm, brown eyes. "Go on and load onto the boats. There'll be plenty of time fer socializing later."
They obediently climbed into the small canoes that awaited them. Ellie beamed as the boat she had chosen made its way into the water of its own accord.
The castle looked more and more impressive the closer she got to it. It was huge, and despite its dark colors, there was an undeniable warmth to it. As soon as she reached the shore and followed Hagrid inside, she learned that the inside shared that warmth, though it had quite a few other impressive qualities, as well—namely, the ceiling of the Great Hall that seemed to emulate the night sky.
A stern-faced, pointy-nosed witch in a long, black hat approached them at that point, introducing herself as Professor McGonagall and leading the first years to a holding area while she explained to them that it was time for the Sorting Ceremony to begin. Ellie watched her fellow first years grow pale and nervous with anticipation, but she had a feeling no one felt it quite as much as she did.
She snapped back to attention when she spotted a bleach-blond-haired boy sneering an insult to Ron.
"You'll soon find that some wizarding families are better than others," he then said to Harry, extending a hand. "You don't want to go making friends with the wrong sort. I can help you there. Name's Malfoy. Draco Malfoy."
Everything about the boy made Ellie want to puke. She feared the worst until, to her relief, Harry rejected the handshake and said, "I think I can tell who the wrong sort are for myself, thanks."
It was then that Ellie decided Harry was her new favorite person besides the Weasleys.
"You're nervous, too?" Harry whispered to her when McGonagall returned to lead them back into the Great Hall.
"Yeah," she admitted. "Both my parents were in Slytherin, but it's the last house I want to end up in. All the Weasleys are in Gryffindor."
Harry followed her gaze toward the long Gryffindor table that stretched over a quarter of the Great Hall. Toward the Sorting Ceremony end sat Fred and George, who grinned from ear to ear at her when they saw her.
"They seem fond of you," Harry told her when he saw them. "Reckon they're hoping the same thing you are."
Ellie found that thought oddly comforting.
With the last name of Bretherworth, she didn't have to wait long to be called up for Sorting. Only Hannah Abbott and Susan Bones were ahead of her, and then it was her turn.
She took a deep breath as she sat on the stool and McGonagall placed the Hat on her head. It's going to be fine. It's going to be fine. It's going to be…
Fine, the Hat finished for her. It seemed to speak only to her—only in her head. Yes, yes—fine, fine. Purebloods tend to be easier, of course, when their parents are in the same houses… You, though…
Not Slytherin, she thought quickly. I know they were both in Slytherin, but—
Both in Slytherin? the Hat interrupted. Not by a long shot… The mother, certainly, and the father's family, but not the father.
Not the father? But that was impossible. Andrew Bretherworth? You're saying he wasn't a Slytherin?
The hat seemed to chuckle at that. That is no name, but a disguise… Your father was a Gryffindor, child—through and through. The question is, which parent do you take after?
Ellie could hardly believe what she was hearing. Her father, who sat rotting in Azkaban Prison, had been a Gryffindor? Hadn't the Weasleys told her that very summer that there wasn't a witch or wizard who went bad who wasn't in Slytherin?
According to the Hat, she didn't even have her father's name right.
Him, she told the hat suddenly. I'm nothing like my mother. I take after him.
The Hat seemed to consider this for a moment. You have his courage, to be sure—and his power flows in your veins. Such passion, though—and anger that could explode, if left unchecked…
Anger that could explode? That seemed a bit dramatic. Please, she thought desperately. I'll be a good witch. I don't want to hurt anyone. I just want to be with my friends.
Ah, yes—I see it now. The loyalty… the love. Suppose you're right, then. Better be…
And out loud this time, the Sorting Hat yelled, "Gryffindor!"
Cheers rang out from the Gryffindor table as McGonagall lifted the Hat from Ellie's head, but she could barely hear them. As she stumbled over to the table to join the twins, all she could hear was the sound of the Sorting Hat telling her things she would never be able to un-hear.
"I don't understand," Fred said after the feast as Percy proudly led the Gryffindors back to their common room. "He called your father's name a disguise?"
"And said that he was in Gryffindor. He was sure of it—I could tell."
"The Gryffindor part might be true," said George with a frown, "but the other? Why would a man in prison for the rest of his life need a disguise?"
"To protect me?" Ellie suggested, though she wasn't at all sure of her answer. "Your dad said at Gringotts that he was from a wealthy family, and the Hat said that they were all Slytherins. Maybe he was trying to keep me from them in case they, I don't know… influenced me?"
"Or keep them from you," Fred pointed out.
"I don't know," said George doubtfully. "Wouldn't we have heard Mum and Dad discussing this if there was some sort of conspiracy happening?"
"It would explain Ollivander's," she pointed out. "He had clearly never heard my name before, but seemed to think he knew all the pure-blooded families around."
"You're right," said Fred. "But we have all year to sort out that mystery. For now, you should take a look at your new home."
Ellie forced herself out of her stupor just in time to climb through the opened portrait of a very large woman and into the Gryffindor common room. It was big and warm, with a large fireplace and a series of armchairs and sofas scattered about. Percy was barking orders about where the girls' and boys' staircases were located, but the bulk of the students remained in the common room to mingle.
"Looks like Ollie's already gone upstairs for the night," said George after scanning the room's inhabitants. "We'll have to chat Quidditch with him tomorrow."
Ellie nodded. She was a little nervous to meet Oliver Wood, the Quidditch captain she'd heard so much about, and didn't mind putting it off until morning.
"All right, Ellie?" asked Harry as he and Ron came over to join her and the twins. "The Hat spend almost as long with you as it did with me."
She laughed, though she didn't feel quite as comfortable sharing the secrets of her ancestry with him as with the twins. "Had to convince it of a few things, but all right now. You?"
He nodded. "Same here. Really relieved, though. Can you imagine if we'd ended up in Slytherin?"
"You mean you don't want to be best friends with Draco Malfoy?" asked Ron with a grin. "But he seemed so nice!"
They settled into the nearest available sofa at that as they chatted and laughed their way into the night.
Ellie missed the Burrow already, but she also had a feeling she was going to like it here.
When Ellie finally made it up the girls' staircase and into the first years' suite, she was pleased to find that her other four roommates were all still awake. The only one she had officially met was Hermione, who shot her a pleasant smile. The others introduced themselves as Lavender Brown, Parvati Patil, and Kellah Dunbar.
"I heard you spent the summer with the Weasleys," Lavender told her with wide, blue, intrigued eyes. "But no one seems to know why."
"Oh—my mum just had a job opportunity that required her to travel," said Ellie shortly, not wanting to get into the details of her mother not wanting her to go to Hogwarts.
"But… there are so many boys in that family," giggled Parvati. "Wasn't it awkward, living with them and all?"
Ellie had never really stopped to consider the fact that she'd spent the summer living with mostly boys. She'd never gotten along particularly well with girls until Ginny. "Not really. They were all pretty nice and welcoming—except Percy, anyway."
"I don't know about that Ron character," said Hermione, wrinkling her nose. "That spell he tried to cast on his rat?"
Ellie laughed at the memory. "It was probably just a prank Fred and George played on him, and not a real spell. Ron can be a little daft at times, but he means well."
She tried to pay attention as the conversation turned toward which boys in their year they thought was cute, but she had a hard time doing so. Ellie didn't particularly care which boys were cute; she was much more interested in spending time with the boys she had befriended, like Fred and George. Still, she smiled and nodded along with the girls to be polite until, eventually, she drifted off to sleep.
Lots of curious new developments here with Ellie's identity, though she's still missing a lot of answers. How long will it take her to sort out the truth about her father? And how will the start of term go for her? Stay tuned to find out, and don't forget to leave a review if you're enjoying the story. Thanks for reading!
