Chapter 4: Welcome to Hogwarts!
Regina and Tutra took the same boat across the lake to get to Hogwarts.
"Well, this is it! The big moment!" Regina said, in awe of the majestic view.
"Finally!"
They stepped out of the boat. Regina couldn't believe she was finally here, just a couple hours away from learning magic.
"Look, Regina! It's the Whomping Willow!" Tutra pointed to a ginormous tree on the Hogwarts Grounds.
"The same one that attacked our grandads?"
"Yep."
"It's not dead?"
"Of course not! It's magic!" Tutra looked at Regina as if she wanted to smack her over the head.
"Excuse me. You two girls! Join the rest of the first years! You do want to be sorted, don't you?" A soft voice came from behind them. Regina and Tutra both turned around to find a very familiar-looking old woman standing there. "Oh, Regina Potter! Tutra Granger-Weasley! I forgot you were starting at Hogwarts this year!"
"Hi, Luna." Regina squeaked.
"It's Professor Lovegood while you're here, girls. It's nice to see you. Now, come inside for the sorting."
Regina had met Luna Lovegood many times before. She was good friends with her grandparents Ginny and Harry Potter.
She let the Deputy Headmistress lead them into the building.
They squeezed into the crowd of other first years, Ronnie, Danielle, and Daniel among them.
"Now, wait here, students. The sorting will begin shortly." And so Professor Lovegood left them, so she could set up the Great Hall for the sorting.
No one said a word. Not even Ronnie decided to stir up any drama while the Professor was gone. So for a while, Regina just stood there awkwardly, paralyzed by her excitement. She was finally here, inside the castle that was Hogwarts, ready to begin her journey of magic.
She looked around at the crowd of kids, and one person stood out to her. He had light blond hair with a streak of white in it. He looked like she knew him from somewhere. She suddenly realized that he was the same boy she had spotted at Madam Malkin's in Diagon Alley. Well, that must've been it. But something else seemed eerily familiar about him, but she just couldn't put her finger on what.
"Gina. Gina! GINA!" Tutra tapped her on the shoulder and Regina came back to her senses.
"Huh, what?"
"What're you staring at?" Tutra asked.
Regina hadn't realized she was staring at the boy. She actually felt guilty for doing that, because he probably got enough weird stares because of his hair. "Oh, er - nothing." She responded.
Soon enough, Professor Lovegood stepped back into the room. "Okay, you can follow me into the great hall now." She said.
Regina was shaking as the doors to the Great Hall opened, and she found all the older kids staring at her and the other first years. Dorothy spotted her and waved from the Hufflepuff table, but Regina was so awestruck that she didn't wave back. It was even more beautiful and grand than she had imagined. The floating candles beautifully illuminated the hall, and the teachers looked so professional at their table at the front of the room. It seemed like her legs had a mind of their own as she started speed walking and pushing through the crowd.
Ronnie suddenly stopped her. "Really, Regina, don't walk so fast. I suppose that you want to be in the front and attract all the attention, don't you? Ugh, classic Regina."
"Actually, Ronnie, that seems more like something you would do." Regina said.
Ronnie rolled her eyes and pretended she had heard nothing.
And without any introduction, Professor Lovegood called out the first name on the list of first years.
"Amato, Lurline!" A small girl stepped up to the spot with the sorting hat, and she seemed to be confused about everything going on.
"Hufflepuff!"
"Benton, Leola!"
"Ravenclaw!"
"Blum, Fabiana!"
"Gryffindor!"
"Carran, Isabella!"
"Gryffindor!"
"Cocks, Robby!"
"Slytherin!"
"Collins, Devon!"
"Slytherin!"
Regina knew that it would take a while for her name to be called, because her last name started with a P. She zoned out for a few minutes until they came to a name she recognized.
"Granger-Weasley, Tutra!" Tutra stepped forward and walked up to the hat. She sat down on the stool and took a deep breath as Professor Lovegood lifted the hat to put it on her head.
Regina gave Tutra an encouraging nod, but she couldn't tell if Tutra could see it.
The sorting hat was being lowered onto Tutra's head now. The first little inch of the hat touched her head and it instantly yelled out, "Ravenclaw!" Tutra beamed with pride, and sprinted over to the Ravenclaw table.
Quite a few more random people were sorted, none that Regina knew, and eventually she found herself getting bored, something that she never thought would happen on her first day at Hogwarts. She saw Tutra finding her place at the Ravenclaw table, and from the look of it she was probably asking for studying tips, or good book recommendations. Regina smiled. It seemed nice how Tutra was fitting in.
Finally the moment came.
"Potter, Regina!" Regina's heart pounded and her legs felt like jelly as she stepped up to the hat. As suspected, the hat didn't call out her house immediately like it did for Tutra.
A Potter, hmm. Looks like there'll be many of you this year. What's going on inside your head? Let's see… You are a hard worker, so maybe Hufflepuff, and you'll work hard to do what you need to do. But, you won't harm others for it. You constantly feel like you need to prove something, and deep inside, you long for adventure. I think it'd better be… "Gryffin-" Regina looked around the room while the Sorting Hat said the words, as if it was speaking in slow motion. She glimpsed Louise's hopeful face, hoping for another Gryffindor to join her. Then she saw Tutra sitting at the Ravenclaw table, and her stomach did a flip.
Wait. The sorting hat cut itself off before it could finish announcing her house to the school.
"Looks like we might have a hatstall!" Ronnie giggled.
So you want to be in Ravenclaw, huh?
What? I never said that! Regina thought.
But you did. The Hat said. Let's see, is Ravenclaw a wise choice for you? Oh! What is this! Hmm… yes… yearns for knowledge and is very nerdy, but never wants to show it, or admit it. You pushed that down far enough that even I, the Sorting Hat, couldn't see it at first glance. "RAVENCLAW!" It yelled out to the great hall.
Regina felt relieved, and that she got something off of her chest. The hat was right, she was a nerd. She didn't like showing it because it would only give Ronnie another reason to be a jerk. But if she was in Ravenclaw, she would fit in and be herself. She may not have been as much of a bookworm as Tutra, but she loved to learn.
She took off the hat with a smile on her face. She walked past Ronnie, who giggled, "Nerdy Hatstall!"
Regina ignored her, and took a seat at the Ravenclaw table in between Tutra and Claire.
"YAY!" Claire gave Regina a squeeze. "Good work, Gina! You made it into the BEST HOUSE!" She yelled. Claire loved to show her Ravenclaw pride.
Regina smirked. "Good to see you too, sis." She laughed.
She leaned over and asked Tutra, "Was I a hatstall?"
"Um, no. I think it took you 4 minutes to be sorted, so you weren't a hatstall."
"Ha. That'll show Ronnie."
"Deirdre!" Claire was reaching across the table, tapping their second cousin on the arm. Deirdre loved to sleep whenever she got the free time. How she made it into Ravenclaw was a mystery to Regina. Right now she was napping, and Claire was struggling to wake her up.
"Deirdre!" She yelled.
"Whaaaat do you waaaant, Surinder?" Deirdre thought that she was in her bed in the dormitories, being awoken by her bunkmate she had had for her past years.
"It's not Surinder, it's Claire."
"Oh. Whaaaat do you waaaant, Claire?"
"Look up."
"Ok." Deirdre lifted her head. "Oh, hi Regina. Hi, Tutra."
"Deirdre, Regina and Tutra just got sorted into Ravenclaw with us. Be happy!"
"This is my happy face…" Deirdre groaned.
Regina turned her attention back to the sorting hat, to watch the rest of the sorting.
Ronnie's name had just been called, and she was walking up to the Hat. It didn't take the hat long to yell loudly, "Slytherin!" Ronnie smiled her prettiest smile, and flipped her long, black, silky hair. She took a seat at the Slytherin table, attempting to gain popularity as quickly as she could.
"Potter-Jacobson, Daniel!"
"Hufflepuff!" Daniel seemed a little disappointed as the hat lifted off of his head, but he didn't make it too obvious.
"Potter-Jacobson, Danielle!"
"Gryffindor!" Danielle did a little victory dance as she sat down by Louise and Mimi at the Gryffindor table.
A little later…
Finally, Headmaster Longbottom stepped up to the podium, and when Regina expected him to announce it was feasting time, he said, "Allow me to introduce this years staff for all you first years!" He announced. A collective groan filled the great hall. "Oh, fine. I know you're all hungry. I'll introduce the staff at breakfast tomorrow." He said with a smile. The next thing heard in the hall was a collective YES! From all the hungry students.
A huge banquet appeared on the table in front of Regina, and she dug in. She was here at Hogwarts now. This was real.
