Chapter 3: 1st person POV
I changed into my robes and sat back to await the end of the train ride. I had resolved to speak with Professor Snape about my father, as he appeared to have some knowledge. My mother wouldn't tell me anything, and I thought it was high time I knew.
The train stopped, and all the students poured out of the train. I could hear a loud voice calling, "First years, first years! Over here! First years!" I looked to see who had yelled. A huge man stood, one arm waving frantically, and the other holding a huge lantern. He looked like a giant, I thought. Wait. On second thought, he probably was or maybe only half. All the first years walked hesitantly toward him. I was unsure where to go, since I was a new student, but I was not a first year. Luckily, someone was waiting for me.
"Miss Boleyn," said a deep resonant voice. I stopped dead. Professor Snape was the one to meet me? Considering what my mother had told me, I had thought he wouldn't consent to see a student unless that person was in trouble or in his classroom.
"Hello, Professor. How are you?" I asked politely.
"Come with me," was all he said. Apparently, he wasn't one for small talk. I followed him to one of the horseless carriages. He held the door open for me, and I climbed in. He followed, closing the carriage door behind him. We sat back as the vehicle began to move.
"Sir, why couldn't I have gone with the rest of the students?" I asked.
"There is something that must be taken care of first. Has your mother told you about the Sorting Hat?"
"Uh, no."
"The Sorting Hat sorts each student into one of the four houses: Slytherin, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, or Gryffindor, who were the four founders of Hogwarts."
"Oh," was all I said. We sat in silence the rest of the way. While we were traveling, I was looking out the window. The castle was huge! It looked like a fortress with its turrets as guards. I'm sure there were magical barriers, too, and I could feel something as we passed through the gates. I could see a lake, with its waters rippling in the light breeze. The carriage stopped, and we exited. He took me up the stairs and through the entrance hall. We went up the staircases to the 3rd floor. Professor Snape stopped at a lone gargoyle standing guard.
"Popping Lollipops," he said, and the gargoyle jumped aside, revealing a revolving staircase. He gestured his arm before him, and I stepped on. He accompanied me up and knocked on an oak door.
"Enter," said a voice. I opened the door and stepped in. I immediately noticed the white- bearded, half-moon spectacled man seated behind the large desk. He looked old yet powerful. I did not get the impression of weakness, only a benign presence that had the power to defend itself if necessary.
"You must be Professor Dumbledore," I said.
"That is correct. You must be Catherine Boleyn."
"Most definitely," I responded. "So, I'm here to be sorted?"
"Yes, you are. It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Boleyn. Your mother and father were both outstanding students here. I feel most certain that we will see good things from you," Dumbledore said, but she had stopped listening after he had said "father". So, he knew her father too. This is really starting to get on my nerves! Why does everyone else know about him, but not me!
"Severus, would you kindly get the Hat, please?" Professor Snape took the hat off the shelf on which it had been sitting and handed it to me wordlessly.
"So, I put it on, and then what?" I put the hat on. Then, the hat spoke. "Well, I guess that covers it," I said aloud. To the Hat, I said 'How do you decide?'
'I choose by the student's nature, abilities, etc.' "Let it be Slytherin!" it said to the general public.
"Congratulations, Severus. Severus is Slytherin's Head of House. If you have any questions or problems, you are to see him, one of the prefects or the Head Boy and Girl," said Professor Dumbledore.
"Well, I think we're done here. We'd better go on down to the feast," Dumbledore commented jovially. Back downstairs, we went into the Great Hall. I stood still and gasped. It was so amazing! I had never seen the likes of it before, and I never did again. The ceiling was charmed to reflect the sky outside, and it was magnificent. The moon was out, and you could see all the stars. I could even see Capricornus! Professor Snape had continued walking, but he stopped once he noticed that I had not followed him.
"Will you stop dawdling?" he inquired impatiently.
"Sorry! I had never seen anything like this before."
"It'll still be there later," he commented sarcastically.
"Oh fine; I'm coming." When I had caught up with him, he showed me to the Slytherin table. Already there were the blonde boy and his cronies, along with other slytherins. They all stared as I sat down. I arched an eyebrow in response, and they quickly went back to whatever they were doing before.
Professor Dumbledore had reached the head table by the time I sat down and was waiting for quiet, which he got. "Tuck in!" was all he said. I looked down, and all this food appeared! I took some and started eating. When most of us were done, Dumbledore stood up.
"Welcome to a new year! I am happy to see you all here. I would like to make two announcements. First, we have a new Defense of the Dark Arts teacher-". Before he could finish the statement, a man entered the Great Hall. He had a wooden leg. Also, he had one blue eye and one green. The blue one swiveled around like a whirlpool. "Professor Alastor Moody," he said into the silence. No one said anything, so he continued. "Second, we have a new student, from America, Miss Catherine Boleyn. There was some polite applause, like when you're at a concert that's not really that good, but you want to be polite. Professor Dumbledore had continued speaking, but none of it was of any interest to her. There was something about a Triwizard Tournament, but since she wasn't old enough to participate, she didn't really care. Finally, Dumbledore sent them all to bed.