Chapter 5: The Sorting Ceremony

"Look!" Rowan pointed excitedly to a large sign that read in bold black lettering 'Hogsmeade Station.' "We're here! Hogsmeade Station!"

The nice blonde girl, Penny Haywood, decided to leave to chat with other students, so Rowan and I had the compartment to ourselves. Shortly after she left, I had decided to change into my Hogwarts robes, since we were not far from the castle, and Rowan was kind enough to close the compartment curtains and stand outside while I changed. After that, Rowan reentered the compartment, and we continued chatting about all the things we were most excited for once arriving to Hogwarts.

Now, forty-five minutes later, the Hogwarts Express was finally pulling into Hogsmeade Station, and Rowan was immediately out of her seat and bolting to the door before the train even came to a complete stop.

Once the train came to a complete stop, Rowan was the first to exit the train, with me following close behind. We glanced around at the other students departing the train, most walking through an archway that lead into town. I figured that was where we would go in order to get to the castle; Mum said it was a short walk through town, and then we would take rickety carriages pulled by invisible forces to the main entrance of the castle, but I also remembered Mum saying that First-Years had to take boats over a large lake, which was located outside of town (in other words, not through the archway).

Rowan stole the words right out of my mouth. "So where do we go? My parents said not to follow everyone else through the archway. Apparently, First-Years take a different route to the castle."

I was about to answer when a booming voice echoed through the station, "Firs'-Years! This way please! Come on, Firs'-Years! Don' be shy!"

We turned to see a tall and exceedingly buff-looking man with a scruffy beard, carrying a large, bright lantern in his meaty hands.

"Merlin's beard!" Rowan exclaimed in shock upon seeing the man. "That guy is huge!"

"He's a giant," I explained, recognizing the man. "I think he's the gamekeeper. Mum told me the gamekeeper of Hogwarts was a giant, though they never mentioned how giant he actually was."

Rowan laughed. "Ha! I see what you did there. Clever."

I frowned, puzzled at Rowan's comment toward mine. "Um…that comment was not meant to be a pun, but never mind. Let's go." I was honestly surprised at the man's largeness as well and had not said my comment as a joke.

We walked toward the giant man and saw several students—possibly other First-Years like us—gathering around him. I smiled at the thought of how the giant man must've been thinking about us; we must've looked like ants compared to him.

Once all the First-Years had gathered, the giant announced with a wave of a hand, "Alri', then! This way teh the boats! Come on, follow me!" It was a good thing we decided to follow the giant instead of the upper students; otherwise, we would've been in a very embarrassing situation in the near future.

As a group, we walked out of the station and through the dark forest for about ten minutes before we came across a large lake. There were several small boats that were bobbing innocently on its surface as the moonlight reflected off of them. The giant instructed four to a boat, which Rowan and I shared with a dark-skinned boy and a redheaded girl with an Asian complexion. Shortly after everyone was situated to each boat, the boats started moving by themselves across the lake.

In the distance, we could see a large castle standing proudly over the lake, like a queen looking out over her kingdom. I heard the dark-skinned boy, the redheaded girl, and Rowan making sounds of amazement at the majestic-ness of the school, which I instinctively mimicked. Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was exactly as I imagined it would be, with its tall towers and ancient brickwork. This place had been in existence for centuries and, amazingly, still continued to impress new witches and wizards today. I didn't think I would ever see a more beautiful place than this and couldn't wait to find out what mysterious secrets it held, particularly the Cursed Vaults.

After the fifteen-minute boat ride across the lake, we arrived at a little shack at the base of the cliff that was the Boathouse, where we all dismounted from the boats. Then the giant led us up a large staircase that reached all the way up to the castle and into a small courtyard with a fountain in the center and a massive clock fixed to the castle wall that was facing out over the courtyard, like a judge overlooking his convicts in a Court Room. We followed the giant through large double doors directly under the clock and stopped in front of another set of double doors further inside the castle. He instructed for us to wait here as he slipped quietly through the doors, where, from the other side, we could hear loud but distant chattering from the other students that were from the upper years. We waited there in silence for about two minutes when a tall witch in bright green robes and a large pointy hat entered the hallway from the noisy room beyond the doors. Instead of beckoning us through the doors, she closed them and began a short speech.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," she said in a calm but stern-sounding voice. I assumed her to be Professor McGonagall, the head of Gryffindor House and Transfiguration professor. "Before the Welcoming Feast, we must Sort all first-year students into their proper houses. The Sorting Ceremony is very important. While you are here, your house will be something like your family. The four houses are called Gryffindor: the brave and chivalrous, Hufflepuff: the kind and diligent, Ravenclaw: the witty and wise, and Slytherin: the cunning and ambitious. Each house has its own noble history, and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. I hope you all will be fine additions to their ranks. The Sorting Ceremony will begin momentarily." She then turned and slipped through the doors, again without beckoning us to follow her inside.

Rather than just stand there, waiting for Professor McGonagall to return, I took the time to observe the other First-Years. It was just as I had expected; they seemed just as nervous as I was. Many of them were just standing there silently, glancing between each other as if they were suspicious of at least one of them making an attempt of committing thievery. Others looked like they were looking for an opportunity to make a break back to the Boathouse and row far away from this place. The boy I spotted from the train that had killed the Chocolate Frog was physically shaking on his feet, looking slightly green around the edges. Some of the kids standing directly behind him had their hands out, preparing to catch the boy if he were to faint at any moment. One thing that was the most unusual to see was the magenta-haired girl, whose face was morphing into various shapes out of anxiousness.

I suddenly heard a loud snort from the chubby-cheeked girl, who, I remembered, had mentioned the Cursed Vaults to the broad-shouldered boy on the train. "Ha!" she sniggered to the boy, spreading her short arms out to us, "Look at all these pussies. There is no doubt that I will be the most important First-Year of the lot."

Rowan then turned to me and murmured in my ear, "More like she will be the most hated First-Year." I had to nod in agreement. Even when I first heard Chubby-Cheeks's voice, I somehow knew I was not going to get along with her. Of course, there are people who would've argued that one can never truly know whether someone would be likable or not when using a certain tone of voice, and that first impressions were often wrong; but if that voice was overheard to call someone else a 'loser,'—like Chubby-Cheeks had said about me—that someone else would beg to differ.

A few minutes later, Professor McGonagall returned and said with a slight smile, "We are ready for you now. Follow me."

This time when she opened the doors, she beckoned for us to follow her, and we did.

The room was massive. There were thousands—maybe more; there were too many for me to count them all—of candles hanging in midair above the heads of all the students, who were seated at four long tables that reached from the double doors all the way to the other side, where another large table was placed, there seating all the teachers. Professor McGonagall—whose chair at the teacher's table was empty—led us up to where the teachers were seated and had us stand there with them and the other students facing and staring at us (which isn't creepy in the slightest, I thought to myself). To avoid the staring eyes, I looked up past the floating candles and noticed the ceiling that was studded with stars and misty with thin clouds.

"The ceiling's not real," I heard Rowan's voice whisper in my ear. "It's just bewitched to look like the sky outside. I read about it in Hogwarts: A History." I nodded my understanding.

"Now, before we begin," Professor McGonagall spoke up once all First-Years gathered in front of the Great Hall, "Professor Dumbledore would like to say a few words."

She stood back as a tall wizard with a long white beard and half-moon spectacles rose up from the middle seat at the teacher's table. "Welcome! Welcome to another year at Hogwarts," he said in a booming and ancient-sounding voice. "The past few years have been a great weight lifted from our world. The Boy Who Lived, Harry Potter, is safe. Years from now, young Harry will be old enough to attend Hogwarts. But for now, it's your turn!" He directed this statement toward us First-Years. "Remember, while you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn you House Points, while any rule-breaking will lose House Points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the House Cup, a great honor. I hope each of you will be a credit to your house. Let the Sorting Ceremony commence!"

Once the Headmaster's speech was finished, the Great Hall erupted in cheerful and enthusiastic applause. Many of the First-Years applauded as well, but I was one of very few who did not join in the applause. This was the one thing I was dreading the most throughout the entire journey here. I glanced nervously at the old hat that was perched on a rickety stool that was standing directly in front of the Headmaster's seat that Professor McGonagall was now approaching while carrying a large scroll with the students' names in her thin hands. Once my name was called to place that filthy hat on my head and to be Sorted into one of the houses, everyone in the entire school will find out who I am and know about my brother's expulsion and think of me as 'mad' and 'cursed,' and who knows what they would do after that. Now I wanted more than ever to make a break for it out of the Great Hall double doors, down the long staircase to the Boathouse, and row far away from here; but if I turned back now, I would be viewed as a coward in front of the whole school. Even if I was able to flee this place and go home, Mum would most likely send me straight back to Hogwarts without allowing me to explain that I wasn't as ready as I thought I was and would never believe me even if I was able to explain myself. Now that I was here, I had to stay and face whatever challenges were to be thrown at me, and this was one of them.

"You won't know anything unless you learn it for yourself," Mum's voice echoed in my mind. "That is what school is all about."

"When I call your name," Professor McGonagall announced after the applause gradually faded, "you will come forth, I will place the Sorting Hat on your head, and you will be Sorted into your Houses." She lifted the Sorting Hat with one hand and held the large scroll with the First-Years' names with the other. She called for the first name on the list—"Anderson, Aaron!"—and a boy with bright blue eyes and dark hair hesitantly approached the stool, sat down as McGonagall placed the hat on his head, and the hat placed him in his house with a booming voice, "RAVENCLAW!" The table that was filled with students wearing blue-and-silver-striped ties and robes with blue velvet lining and crest bearing the image of an eagle erupted in applause as Aaron joined them at their table.

I didn't recognize anyone until a "Copper, Benjamin" was called, and the nervous blond boy that looked like he was about to faint—who now looked even more so—approached the stool, although he was pushed up by several First-Years because he seemed to refuse to respond the first time his name was called. The Sorting Hat placed him in Gryffindor, which I found very ironic, what with him possibly being the most cowardly of all of us. Then again, this may have been likely to change as the year went on. A minute later, Penny Haywood was called and placed in Hufflepuff like she'd hoped, happily joining the table with students, whose robes had bright yellow lining on the inside and whose crests bore the image of a badger.

Suddenly, "Khanna, Rowan" was called.

"Oh, no, I'm next," Rowan murmured as she slowly approached the stool. Professor McGonagall gently placed the Sorting Hat on her head, and I had to stifle back a snort as the hat fell forward over her eyes, almost knocking her large glasses off of her face. She re-adjusted her glasses and pushed the hat back on her head as the hat squealed, "GRYFFINDOR!" The Gryffindor table, whose robes had bright red lining and bore the image of a lion, erupted in applause as Rowan ran to them and took her seat.

I looked behind me. Not many left now, I thought as I noticed that there were now less than fifteen First-Years left to be Sorted. I figured I was going to be one of the first few people who will be called next, because I knew that the letter 'M' was not far after the letter 'K.'

Apparently, I was right, as "Morgan, Janelle" was called immediately after Rowan, and that was when I realized that I was next on the list.

I immediately felt my heart drop at the sound of my name leaving Professor McGonagall's lips and hanging in the air like a noose. This can't be real, I thought as the stool moved closer and closer to me, but then I realized the stool wasn't moving; I was. As I subconsciously approached the stool, I heard quiet murmurs from other students:

"She's a 'Morgan.' Could she be related to that cursed boy from the Daily Prophet?"

"She's got to be his sister. She looks just like him."

"Even their names are almost the same."

"I heard her brother went mad. Could she be mad too?"

I knew it, I thought dismally to myself. Here was the time the criticism would start, the exact second after my name was called. So much for avoiding any talk of my brother. "I'm afraid you won't have much of a choice," Penny's voice whispered in my head. "The whole school is going to know about him, and they'll all come to you for answers." Exactly what I didn't want to happen.

With a heavy heart, I sat on the stool, the wood creaking noisily under my weight, and let Professor McGonagall place the Sorting Hat on my head. The hat had a similar effect on me as Rowan, except it completely covered my eyes and nose.

Once McGonagall's hand released the hat, I began hearing a deep voice in my head, "Hmmm…very interesting. I haven't seen one like this in a long time. Plenty of courage, I see…and not a bad mind either. There's much talent in you, and a thirst to prove yourself, given your brother's reputation. But where to put you, hmm?"

Not Slytherin, I thought back to the voice. Anything but Slytherin.

"Not Slytherin, eh?" the deep voice replied, and I realized it was the hat speaking. "Are you sure? You could be great, you know; it's all here in your head. But I understand now. Best make it…GRYFFINDOR!"

I expected a massive applause from the rest of the school, but instead, there was silence—at least silence from everyone but the first-years. This made sense, considering that every person from Year 2 and up (professors included) would be very familiar with my brother's incident, and those like the first-years would not be so familiar because they were too young to understand what was written in the Daily Prophet, and also would not have grown up with Jacob since he had disappeared last year.

I sighed. At least my name was on the roster, and I was Sorted into at least one of the houses, so obviously I belonged here at Hogwarts. At least, a part of me belonged here, the part of me that wasn't cursed. If only I wasn't cursed, then no one would have a problem with me being here and fearing that I would cause trouble like my brother.

Oh, Jacob, what have you done? I couldn't help but wonder as I awkwardly approached the Gryffindor table, its occupants—all except for Rowan and Benjamin—staring suspiciously at me, like I was some sort of parasite that they didn't want contaminating their domain.

All unspoken criticisms aside, I couldn't help but feel giddy with excitement. At least I was accepted into Hogwarts, despite my brother's cursed history. I didn't know who exactly had accepted me—probably Professor Dumbledore, I thought—but obviously this person saw potential in me, like he or she believed that I would prove myself to not be like my brother and to at least try to be an outstanding witch in the years to come. If I ever found out the identity of this mysterious person, I'd be sure to thank him or her.

"Congratulations, Jane!" Rowan cheered. "You're in Gryffindor! I can't believe we're both in Gryffindor! This is the best day ever!"

"I know!" I agreed with a smile. "I can't believe we're finally here! It's just as I imagined it would be and more!" Well, except for the criticism, I thought but didn't say.

We continued watching the rest of the First-Years get Sorted into their Houses in silence, which was something I didn't mind since my heart was beating a million beats per minute. I saw the chubby-cheeked girl—"Snyde, Merula"—get Sorted into Slytherin, which didn't surprise me in the slightest; I figured that was going to happen based on her snooty attitude. The girl with the magenta hair—"Tonks, Nymphadora"—whose face still continued to morph into various shapes, got Sorted into Hufflepuff, and a boy with bright red hair and freckles got Sorted into Gryffindor. "Atta boy, Charlie!" someone yelled from further down the Gryffindor table as the redheaded First-Year, who was probably the person's brother, sat across from Rowan and I, looking shocked but relieved. The last person to get Sorted was the boy that Chubby-Cheeks—whose real name was Merula—talked to, named Joshua Zenger, who, also no surprise, got placed in Slytherin.

"Let the Feast begin!" the Headmaster said shortly after Josh took his seat at the Slytherin table next to Merula.

Not long after that, the most magical thing happened. Large metal plates materialized out of nowhere, filled with every kind of food imaginable. Usually at home, Mum would have the meals already prepared and would simply wave her wand and send the plates of food floating to our table; but here, they just seemed to come into being before the meal was even prepared, like it was taken from the mind and made into something real. Like I normally did during every other meal at home, I piled my plate with food and began eating.

Not long after the meal had started, there was a massive chill in the air next to me, and when I looked, I nearly choked on the piece of chicken leg I was eating, as a ghost of a man with a severed head appeared into existence. Well…the head wasn't completely severed; part of it was still attached and barely hanging from a small scrap of torn skin that acted as a sort of hinge, like whoever had tried to behead him had done a very poor job. It was still a disturbing sight to see. The sight was even more disturbing for the cowardly blond boy, Benjamin Copper, who had squealed loudly and fainted into the large bowl of tomato soup he was eating. When his head had made contact with the bowl, some of the red liquid had splashed out of the bowl and onto the table; some even splashed onto Rowan's plate of food, which she didn't seem to notice.

"Welcome, First-Years!" the ghost said in a cheery voice, paying no attention to poor Ben. "Apologies for startling you, my dear." He had directed this statement toward me. "I had to readjust my head back into place. Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington at your service. Resident ghost of Gryffindor Tower!"

"Hey! I know you!" the redheaded freckled boy—Charlie—said suddenly. "My brother told me about you! You're Nearly Headless Nick!"

"I prefer Sir Nicholas, if you don't mind," the ghost said stiffly.

"Nearly Headless?" Rowan said with a raised eyebrow, looking up from her plate. "How can you be nearly headless?"

I frowned incredulously at her and was about to say something, but Charlie stole the words right out of my mouth. "Do you really want him to pull his head off again?"

"What?" Rowan's eyes bulged behind her glasses again. "He pulled his head off? I hadn't noticed. I was eating." She seemed to be telling the truth, as she had said that with her mouth completely full of baked potato. She looked expectantly at Nearly Headless Nick, as if to invite him to behead himself again, but, luckily for Charlie and I, he was already gliding down to the opposite side of the table, greeting the upper students as he did so. Shortly after the ghost left, Charlie was nice enough to pull Ben's head out of his soup bowl and gently place him on his napkin on the table next to his bowl. Ben, surprisingly, remained comatose even after he was moved.

Half an hour later—luckily at this point, Ben Copper was awake, albeit with tomato soup staining his blond hair—Professor McGonagall announced the end of the feast and ordered the Prefects to escort their Houses to their dormitories. "Anyone out after curfew will be given severe consequences, so no dawdling," she said in a stern voice. "Get some good rest tonight; classes begin first thing tomorrow morning."

"I'm dying to see our Common Room!" Rowan said as she excitedly rose from the now clear table; the plates of food vanished three minutes earlier. "Let's go check it out!"

We heard a girl's voice yell for all Gryffindors to follow her, and we did with great eagerness. The Prefect girl led us out of the Great Hall and up a grand staircase that had small sections of stairs that moved in different directions. "Keep an eye on the staircases," the Prefect warned us as we ascended. "They like to change." There were even pictures hung on every wall that moved and whispered as we walked past them.

Eventually, the Prefect halted in front of a large portrait of a fat woman in a pink silk dress.

"Password?" the fat woman asked in a misty voice.

"Snargaluff," said the Prefect in answer, and the portrait immediately began swinging open, revealing a narrow doorway with a large room inside. The Prefect stepped through the portrait hole, and we followed closely behind her.

We entered a very cozy and much quieter room that was filled with squishy armchairs and sofas of red velvet fabric. A large fireplace was fixed into the wall in one corner of the room, and several moving portraits hung on every wall above everyone's heads.

The Prefect, whose name was Angelica Cole, gave a welcoming speech of her own—of course, not as extravagant of a speech as the one Professor Dumbledore gave in the Great Hall—as we all gathered around the Gryffindor Common Room with awestruck faces. She gave a brief description of what life was like here and a brief tour of the dorms. She even added a few extra announcements to her speech, such as never to wander into the Forbidden Forest, to not use magic outside of class, to watch out for a poltergeist named Peeves, etcetera. Then she ended the speech by handing out everyone's class schedules before sending us to bed.

"I'm so happy we both got put in Gryffindor, Jane," Rowan said as most of the Gryffindors ascended the small spiral staircase to the dorm rooms. "Would you like to hear an exclusive history of our house, including a comprehensive biography of our house founder, which our Prefect apparently failed to mention?"

"For now, let's just take it all in…" I said as I took a deep breath. The room smelt of apples and cinnamon, which reminded me of Mum's homemade Apple Pie she always baked for Christmas.

"It's incredible, isn't it?" Rowan sighed contently as she warmed her hands by the fire. "Even better than I imagined…"

"It really is amazing," I agreed with a thoughtful nod. "I can't wait to meet our fellow Gryffindors!"

Suddenly, there was a loud grunt from a boy, who looked about the age of fourteen, who was sitting with his legs crossed on the sofa next to the window. "I can't believe they even let you in here after your brother got expelled and ruined Gryffindor's reputation," he growled at me with an intense glare.

"Jane will be an outstanding Gryffindor!" Rowan yelled at him in a sudden outrage. "I'm assuming you aren't, since you spend your time bullying first-years."

"Whatever," the boy snorted back at her, rolling his eyes. "I'll be keeping an eye on both of you." He then got up from his spot on the sofa and ascended the spiral staircase to the dorms without another word.

I sighed. Before today, I thought it was going to be easy for me to make new friends and fit in, but now that I've found out that everyone in the school apparently knew about my brother's expulsion—which, apparently, had put a bad rap on Gryffindor House—people were going to think I would do the exact same things that my brother did while he was still at school here and get into the same trouble he got into. In other words, they thought I was going to ruin Gryffindor's rep even more. I had a feeling this was going to be a common issue whilst I was here.

"Sorry," Rowan apologized as if she sensed my despondency. "I know you asked me to follow your lead back in Diagon Alley, but I can't let anyone talk to my friend like that."

I smiled. "Thanks, Rowan. Something tells me that won't be the last time someone brings up my brother." Not wanting to talk about my brother anymore, I asked, "Have you had a chance to look at your timetable?"

"Yes!" Rowan said excitedly. "Can you believe it? Herbology with Professor Sprout, Transfiguration with Professor McGonagall… What are you most looking forward to, Jane?"

I sighed. "I just want to learn spells and potions as fast as possible, so I can use them to find my brother and make sure he's okay." I knew I didn't want to mention my brother again, but I couldn't help worrying about him. I mean, he could be in terrible danger, for all I knew.

Rowan nodded thoughtfully. "Well, we'll learn some really useful and powerful spells in Charms Class. Luckily, we have Charms Class with Professor Flitwick first thing tomorrow!" Suddenly, a massive yawn escaped her lips. "Anyway, I'm going to go to bed. You coming?"

As we ascended the stairs, I couldn't stop an equally massive yawn from escaping my own lips. It had been a very exciting day, and I was ready to get some good sleep that night; for who knew what other exciting things awaited me in the days to come.