Alright I'm back! As the semester is drawing to a close my professors are piling more and more work onto me. But I'm hoping during Thanksgiving Break I'll be able to catch up on my work and be able to write some more chapters for you guys.
Thus chapter is a little shorter than usual due the amount of paper that I've had to write, but I hope you enjoy!
Happy reading!
Willow made sure to keep close to Nott as they followed the crowd of first years from the train to what looked like a marshy area. Hagrid was there waiting to direct the first years into the little rowboats that awaited them on a river.
Nott cleared his throat. "So how awful was it living with muggles? My father always said that they were of the filthy sort."
Willow faltered a bit. How was she supposed to answer that, there was a lot wrong that she found wrong with it and his question in general made her uncomfortable. She floundered when she tried to think of what to say.
"Say, do you know what house you'll be sorted into yet?" She asked a little too loudly.
Avoidance. That was her answer, Willow figured that if she just ignored those comments and questions until...who knew when. Nott gave her a weird look out of the corner of his eye, noticing how awkwardly she avoided the topic. He rolled with it, though he did so with significantly more grace than Willow.
"Well I hope I get put in Slytherin. My entire family was in Slytherin, it's a pureblood thing."
"Wanting to be in the same house as your family?" They made their way down a hill over to Hagrid who was directing the swarm of first years. Nott sighed, looking down at the ground as they walked towards the clump of students, he didn't look too thrilled to answer Willow's question.
"It's not wanting, it's more like… expecting to be in the same house. You know, because-"
"It's a pureblood thing, I get it. You purebloods are weird, though." Willow light elbowed him in his side as she teased him. He laughed a little and lightly pushed her back.
"I'll have you know that Muggles are just as weird." They continued to playfully argue back and forth until they reached Hagrid. Any intimidation factor that he had towering over the students was canceled out by his jolly personality and huge smile. His smile widened when he spotted Willow.
"Willow! Good to see yeh. You and yer friend can get into this boat here. I assume the train here was enjoyable?"
"It was, thanks Hagrid." She shot him a beaming smile as her and Nott climbed into the little rowboat, they were joined by Draco and Blaise. Willow greeted them warmly, laughing loudly when Draco tripped over the edge of his cloak trying to climb in. He blushed, embarrassed, but began to chuckle along with her when Nott and Blaise joined in.
Once all of the first years were in the boats, they began to move. Willow looked around to see if she could see what was causing them to move, like a motor, but there was nothing. It took her a minute to realize that they moved by magic. It was still a foreign concept to her and for it to be so prevalent in everything now was a shock.
"I read somewhere that you actually lived with...Muggles. What was that like?" Willow turned back to Draco and stared him down. She didn't answer Nott when he asked and, even though Draco's question was phrased differently, she wouldn't answer his either.
She answered his question with a question of her own on an entirely different topic, effectively changing the subject and taking the spotlight off of her. As they continued their ride in the boat she deflected questions about what living with Muggles was like. She noticed Nott narrowing his eyes suspiciously with each question that she deflected but thankfully he didn't say anything. The other two boys didn't notice that anything was amiss and Willow was grateful. She wasn't sure how she was going to worm her way out questioning if all three of them came at her. They went around a bend in the river, and after the bend was a sight that Willow had never seen before.
It was a castle. A huge castle to be exact. All of them were distracted when they saw it coming into view. Willow leaned over towards Nott, her eyes still on the castle.
"Is that…?"
"Hogwarts? Yes it is, Welcome to the Hogwarts castle." Willow looked at the castle in awe. She knew Hogwarts was going to be big and impressive, but she didn't know it was going to be a castle. She looked around and was pleased to see that everyone was just as awed as she was. Even the purebloods. The closer they got to Hogwarts, the more magnificent it became. With its many towers it looked more like a fairytale castle than a school building.
Once their ride was over they were led around to a large oak door at what seemed like the front of the castle. Now that she was closer to the school she noticed that the structure was quite scary-looking. Maybe it was the sheer size of the towers and battlements that intimidated her or maybe it was the fact that it was put together in a way to where it looked like it could fall over at any minute. In fact, Willow realized that the only way for the castle to stay standing and keep its grandeur was with magic.
They were lead through the doors and into an entrance hall. The hall was so big that it could've fit the entire Dursley house inside of it with room to spare, the students continued to follow Hagrid until they were led to a separate room. The first years crowded into the room, closer than they would've liked. Standing before them was a bespectacled, stern-looking, witch wearing emerald green robes. She wasn't near as tall or big as Hagrid was but her presence and the way she held herself demanded the attention of everyone in the room.
"Good evening students, I'm Professor McGonagall, deputy headmistress here at Hogwarts. The start of term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting Ceremony will begin in a few short moments so I suggest you smarten yourselves up."
Professor McGonagall looked pointedly at Harry's mussed hair, a ginger boy's smudged nosed, and landed on the boy who had his cloak buttoned over his ear. She proceeded to put them in order and Willow ended up behind Harry. They were told to wait there, and she had left. As soon as she did, Harry turned to Willow and started talking about the train ride here and about some guy named Ron.
"Ron's brothers are twins you know, and they ended up in the same house. Do you think we'll be placed in the same house too?"
"I'm not sure, it all depends on the sorting ceremony." Harry nodded his head and told her what he knew of the houses, most of which she already knew from Theodore Nott.
"I hope I get sorted into Gryffindor, Willow. I can't imagine being a Slytherin, especially since that git Draco will probably be in there. Have you met him yet? Ron tells me that not a witch or wizard that went bad wasn't in Slytherin."
Willow looked at him astounded, surely aren't children of the devil like he was making them seem. She decided to hum vaguely instead of answering. She was saved from further conversation when Professor McGonagall stepped back into the foyer. She motioned for them to follow her and led them into what she said was the Great Hall.
The Great Hall was a huge room with tons of tables where the older students were separated by their houses. Willow had never seen anything so beautiful. The hall was lit with a thousand candles. Looking up above the candles she noticed the ceiling seemed to be charmed to look like the night sky. The teachers were sitting at a table in the front of the room, and in front of them, on a little stool, was an old hat. Harry turned to Willow a gave her a confused look. She just shrugged in response. She assumed that the hat would sort them, though she had no idea how. Or she didn't until it seemed to twitch and a rip appeared at the brim, almost like a mouth and began to sing.
"Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,
But don't judge on what you see,
I'll eat myself if you can find
A smarter hat than me.
You can keep your bowlers black,
Your top hats sleek and tall,
For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat
And I can cap them all.
There's nothing hidden in your head
The Sorting Hat can't see,
So try me on and I will tell you
Where you ought to be.
You might belong in Gryffindor,
Where dwell the brave at heart,
Their daring, nerve, and chivalry Set Gryffindors apart;
You might belong in Hufflepuff,
Where they are just and loyal,
Those patient Hufflepuffis are true And unafraid of toil;
Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,
if you've a ready mind,
Where those of wit and learning,
Will always find their kind;
Or perhaps in Slytherin
You'll make your real friends,
Those cunning folk use any means
To achieve their ends.
So put me on! Don't be afraid!
And don't get in a flap!
You're in safe hands (though I have none)
For I'm a Thinking Cap!"
Once the singing was done, Professor McGonagall drew out a roll of paper and started calling the names.
"Hannah Abbott" The girl walked up and sat on the stool that the hat had been on previously. The sorting hat was placed on her head and, after a moment, yelled out Hufflepuff.
Harry turned toward Willow, relief clear on his face.
"I'm glad it's only the hat. Ron told me that we might've had to fight a troll" Willow rolled her eyes at her brother.
"Clearly your friend has no sense then. We're eleven, how are we supposed to know how to fight a troll?" Harry had nothing to say to that.
"Terry Boot" This boy was sorted into Ravenclaw, so was a young girl named Grace Dalton, who looked particularly terrified. They continued on in this fashion. The girl that interrupted that burst into Willow's train car, Hermione Granger was her name, was sorted into Gryffindor. The girl after her, Daphne Greengrass was sorted into Slytherin, as were Malfoy and Nott. Willow clapped particularly hard for them when they were sorted.
"Harry Potter" The hall fell silent before whispers of his name floated around the room. He turned and looked at Willow, nervous. She nodded for him to go up there and told him good luck, grabbing his hand and squeezing it in a rare act of comfort. He sat on the stool and the hat was placed on his head. It was a couple of tense moments before the hat bellowed out
"GRYFFINDOR!" The Gryffindor table roared with hollers and applause. Willow smiled a little, he would do well there.
"Willow Potter" The whispers started up for her too, but she noticed that they were different. They were asking who she was, if she was related to Harry. Willow sat on the stool and tried to ignore them.
It doesn't matter, she thought, I'll show them.
"Oh, will you?" The sorting hat made some sort of humming noise and continued to talk.
"You know, you and your brother are very different. Even your magic is fundamentally different. Yes, you'll do very well in SLYTHERIN." The hat said the last part out loud and the silence was so deafening that you could hear a pin drop. The Slytherins were the first to recover, clapping loudly, the look of pleasure at getting a Potter in their house clear on their faces. Nott and Malfoy were clapping the loudest. The Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws were clapping politely and when she looked back at the Gryffindor table, they were still too shocked to do anything. Willow got down from the stool and made her way towards the Slytherin table. She took a seat between Nott and Malfoy, and the sorting continued. Harry's friend, Ron Weasley was sorted into Gryffindor and Zabini was sorted into Slytherin. With that the sorting ceremony was over. The headmaster, who introduced himself as Albus Dumbledore, welcomed the first years to Hogwarts. He was tall and thin and his silvery beard was so long that it could've been tucked into his belt.
"Before we begin our feast," he began, "We have some housekeeping to take care of. First off, the forbidden forest is still off limits to all students, and the corridor on the third floor is out of bounds unless someone wishes to die a painful death." She was taken aback.
Was he serious? She looked around and was glad that everyone else looked confused too.
"Now a few words. Here they are: Nitwit, Blubber, Oddment, and Tweak. Thank you!"
Willow was very concerned.
"Is he mad?" She asked no one in particular.
"Yes, he is." It was the boy across from her who spoke up, he must've been an older student, the only thing really memorable about him was is crooked teeth.
"He's a very brilliant wizard, but he tends to pick favorites and his old age has definitely got the better of him these days. Oh the food's here." She blinked a couple of times before deciding that, he too, was also crazy.
Maybe if we're here long enough we'll all go crazy, she thought to herself. She looked back down at the table, and it was covered with food ranging from chicken to pork to potatoes and salads. She stared at it for a while, not really knowing what to do or where to even start.
"You know you can actually eat the food." Nott joked, glancing at Willow out of the corner of his eye. She looked back at him with a lost look in her eye. She had never had this much food available to her before. The most food that she had gotten at the Dursely's were the bites that she had to sneak while cooking for the Dursleys, or the occasional can of soup that she had to sneak out of the kitchen. All of this was overwhelming to her. A spark of realization entered Nott's eyes and he turned back to his food.
"You should really try the chicken, it's quite nice. The potatoes are good as well." Willow decided that God had blessed her with Theodore Nott. He didn't say anything else and she took his advice and grabbed some of the chicken and potatoes. She paused and looked around at the table. The rest of the students, save for two boys she thought were Draco's friends, all had impeccable manners. Willow straightened her posture and began to eat, trying to remember all the manners that she had picked up on over the years, and some that she saw at the table. They ate in silence for a little bit before the boy across from her spoke up again.
"Snape should be coming by soon to give us our schedules."
"Who's Snape?"
"He's our head of house, teaches potions. He's the bat like bloke talking to Professor Quirrell." The boy motioned his head towards the head table and there, dressed in black with black, greasy hair and a beak like nose, was their head of house. She hummed in acknowledgement and went back to her food. Shortly after that Professor Snape did indeed give out their schedules. It seemed that all of the first year Slytherins had the same classes. That was perfectly fine with Willow. Even though it seemed that most of them didn't really want to interact with her due to the fact that she was a Potter. Willow promised herself that that would change. Once they finished their dinner a boy and a girl stood up.
"Alright first years," The girl was the first to speak, "I am Gemma Farley, and this is Evan Rosier. We are your prefects and will be showing you to your dorms." She turned and they both left the group of new students. Evan had to turn and yell over his shoulder.
"Keep up, we won't show you the way again, and you would hate to get lost in the dungeons. We've lost students before, and we don't care if we lose them again." That last bit caused everyone to pick up their pace. Willow kept her eyes open, searching for, and locating, path markers. She was decent at directions, but as she saw staircases move above her, she realized that Hogwarts was going to be a nightmare for people with no sense of direction.
They went lower and lower into the castle, and it began to get blissfully cooler. The group stopped when Evan and Gemma reached a wall with two stone snakes marking some sort of door. Emma turned to them.
"Alright, the girls' dormitories are to the right, and the boy's dormitories are to the left. The password changes every two weeks so check the noticeboard for the password changes. Salazar."
The bricks between the two stone snakes disappeared and everyone entered the Slytherin common room. Willow absolutely loved it. The common area had a couple of round tables, some couches, and high-backed chairs by a fireplace. The room was lit with a series of green lamps that tinted the room green. There was also a huge window that looked out under a lake. She guessed that if it were daytime, you would've been able to see fish and other aquatic life swimming there.
She walked up the stairs and went to the right. The first-year girls' dorms were at the end of the hall and when she looked in, two of the beds were already occupied. She made her way over to the bed that had her trunk in front of it. It was right next to the window, which also was under the lake. Deciding that she would organize her stuff and socialize with the girls in the dorm in the morning, she got ready for bed. She realized that she didn't have any pajamas so she got dressed in Petunia's old, over sized blouse and tried to get in bed without any of the girls noticing. She pulled back her sheets only to find Sandor curled up, sleeping.
"Sandor!" she hissed.
"Oi, I was sleeping here. Oh, Would you look at that, the princess finally arrived." She rolled her eyes and told him to move so she could get into her bed. She sat down on her bed and pulled Sandor onto her lap.
"What was wrong with the pet area they had?"
"It was gross, and cold, it's like no one owns a heater or anything."
"Well at least my bed is warm." She replied sarcastically
"You said it. Say, do you think I could sleep here, you know to keep myself warm?"
"Were you going to do it regardless if I allowed it or not?" Sandor nodded at that.
"Well then I suppose it's fine. Just don't wake me up in the middle of the night." Sandor hissed his agreement and a goodnight and slithered back under the covers. Willow sighed and laid down and proceeded to think about everything that happened. She rolled over and faced the window to watch the water crash against it in waves. Being magic had made her and her twin slightly closer but she knew being put in two rival houses was going to tear them apart again.
I guess it'll be like normal then. She refused to think about that anymore though, they had their first day of classes tomorrow and she was determined to leave her mark on Hogwarts. With that thought, she closed her eyes and the sound of the water lulled her to sleep.