DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter.
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Chapter 10: One For All, All For One
"Every single Hufflepuff had jumped to his or her feet, screaming and stamping, as Cedric made his way past them, grinning broadly, and headed off towards the chamber behind the teachers' table." -J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
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Hermione and Susan got off the Hogwarts Express, following Cedric and Ian while Terrence walked behind them, protecting them from being squashed by older students. Thankfully, they didn't have to carry their trunks as first-years, unlike the three third-year boys they were with.
"Hermione, Sue," Ced turned to them. "See that big bloke out there calling out for first-years? Go and approach him. He will lead you to a boat that will take you to the castle."
"I suggest you hold hands and stick together, midgets," teased Ian.
"Hey!" protested Susan who glared at Ian after reaching for her hand.
"Meet me at the Hufflepuff table, Sue," Ced told his cousin and waved at them. "Good luck, Hermione!"
It was already dark, so Hermione wasn't sure, but she thought she saw him wink at her.
"Hey, Longbottom!" someone called from behind them.
"Your toad's on the nest that girl has for hair."
She felt something on her head and Susan shrieked when a toad made a sound.
Before Hermione could realize what was going on, someone touched her head with force (her hair was no longer in a ponytail) and bumped on her back.
"Hey, watch it out! You're hurting her." She recognized Terrence's voice.
But the person behind her was gone and when she turned around, she saw the three Hufflepuff boys glare at someone in her direction.
Susan smoothed her hair. "The toad's gone. Don't mind them, come on."
And they hopped on a boat. A boy with a toad joined them.
The moment Hermione's eyes saw where they were going, she forgot about what had just happened. She fell in love with the view of the castle illuminated with lights.
"It's beautiful," she whispered.
Susan squeezed her hand. "It really is. So this is where my parents met and fell in love."
Hermione could feel the deep emotion in her new friend's tone. She felt so sad for Susan for she could not bear the thought of not having her parents around. Before she learned about being a witch and Hogwarts, her family - parents and Grandma Rose - was her only source of happiness.
Time flies when we're having fun, indeed. Hermione was still enjoying the feeling of being on a boat peacefully, imagining herself running through the corridors of the castle, then suddenly they reached their destination. A witch in emerald-green robes was waiting for them. She heard the big wizard who led them to the castle call her 'Professor McGonagall'. She and Susan walked side-by-side and they followed Professor McGonagall, ignoring the childish insults of a blonde boy towards a redhead and messy-haired boy with round glasses.
Professor McGonagall lead them to the vast Entrance Hall, then they entered a small chamber and made a short speech, welcoming them. She also explained briefly about the Hogwarts' Four Houses.
"How are they going to sort us?" she heard someone ask when Professor McGonagall left them for a moment.
"I don't know. My brothers didn't tell me," replied another boy dumbly.
"Did your aunt or Cedric tell you?" she asked Susan in a low voice.
She shook her head. "No one told me. They said it should be a surprise."
Hermione and Susan waited patiently while watching a poltergeist and the Hufflepuff ghost (as he introduced himself) glided around them. Professor McGonagall returned and asked them to form a line. Hermione stood behind Susan and they entered the Great Hall.
Hermione had seen pictures of the Great Hall in the books, but she was still in awe when she saw how splendid it was! There were thousands of candles lighting the room and the ceiling was full of stars, just like the sky outside.
She saw the tour tables where the rest of the students were sitting, almost all eyes were on them. She noticed that on the far left was the Slytherin table - the students were wearing green and silver ties; then next to it, near the aisle, was the Gryffindor table - they were wearing scarlet and gold. On the right side of the aisle was the Hufflepuff table. She smiled and felt excited upon seeing the other Hufflepuffs. Her eyes wanted to search for Ced, but -
"Look at the ceiling, Hermione!" Susan turned to her, grinning.
"I know," she whispered, leaning forward, closer to Susan's shoulder. "It's bewitched to look like the sky outside, I read about it in Hogwarts: A History".*
They stopped in front of a long table on a platform where the other professors were sitting. And in front of them was a four-legged stool with a dirty hat on top.
She sooner learned that it was called the Sorting Hat and that they had to sit on the stool and put it on their head. It will tell them which house they belong to.
Cedric's words suddenly echoed in her mind. "Then, all you have to do is ask."
"Abbott, Hannah."
Hermione pulled away from her musings when she heard Professor McGonagall's voice. A girl in pigtails sat on the stool.
"HUFFLEPUFF!"
Hermione startled when the hat shouted. There was a cheer and applause from the table on the right as Hannah Abbot joined them.
"Bones, Susan."
Hermione reached for Susan's hand and squeezed it. "Good luck," she whispered and the other girl smiled appreciatively.
Susan sat on the stool and even before the hat fully touched her head, it shouted 'Hufflepuff' already. She grinned and Susan patted her shoulder when she passed by to join the Hufflepuff table.
Terry Boot was the first Ravenclaw, followed by Mandy Brocklehurst. Lavender Brown became the first Gryffindor - the rowdiest table so far. Hermione spotted two redheaded twins cheering more enthusiastically than the others.
They must be the Weasley twins Ian and Terrence were talking about earlier, she noted.
Millicent Bulstrode was the first Slytherin. Hermione didn't dare to look at the Slytherin table. She wasn't interested. Michael Corner joined Ravenclaw, as well as Stephen Cornfoot. Vincent Crabbe to Slytherin, Tracey Davis to the Slytherin House as well. Then, Justin Finch-Fletchley joined the Hufflepuff table. Seamus Finnigan became a Gryffindor, Anthony Goldstein to Ravenclaw, and Gregory Goyle to Slytherin.
"Granger, Hermione."
She took a deep breath and bit her lower lip to relax. She caught Professor McGonagall's eyes and the stern witch gave her a small smile. She frowned at that, but totally forgot when she placed the hat on her head.
"Hmmm... I can sense your intelligence," the hat said to her. "You'll be a great Ravenclaw, no doubt."
No, Hufflepuff, please, she thought.
"Hufflepuff, did you say?" asked the hat again.
"I'll be happier there, I think," she whispered back. "They will accept me more."
"Hmmm... I see you already made friends with the badgers. All right, then. HUFFLEPUFF!"
Hermione grinned and saw three boys from the Hufflepuff table stood up - Cedric, Ian, and Terrence. When she turned to Professor McGonagall, she eyed her with disapproval. She brushed off the thought.
She doesn't know me personally. She's not the one who delivered my Hogwarts letter, she thought as she joined the Hufflepuff table and Susan scooted so she could sit beside her.
"Well done, Hermione," Cedric grinned across from her.
They watched as Daphne Greengrass joined the house of the snakes. And then there was Longbottom, Neville - the boy who owned a toad.
"HUFFLEPUFF!"
Everyone at Hermione's table - she smiled at the thought - clapped as the round-faced boy joined them.
Morag MacDougal went to Slytherin. Ernest Macmillan joined Hufflepuff. Draco Malfoy - the blonde boy who started up a childish an argument earlier - looked very pleased when the hat shouted 'Slytherin'. Lily Moon went to Gryffindor, Theodore Nott - a boy with a rabbity face, Hermione noted just like her - joined the Slytherins. Pansy Parkinson, a witch with a pug-face also joined Slytherin and pushed one of Malfoy's friends so that she could sit beside the blonde boy. Hermione shook her head at the scene.
Everyone was shocked when the Patil twins were sorted in different houses - Padma was in Ravenclaw and Parvati went to Gryffindor. Sally-Anne Perks went to Ravenclaw. Everyone went silent when Potter, Harry went up the front. It took two minutes before the hat shouted 'Gryffindor'. The Weasley twins shouted, "We got Potter, we got Potter". Hermione saw the headmaster - Albus Dumbledore - smiled while watching Harry Potter. And then as if he felt she was looking at him, he met her eyes, and the smile faded. Again, she wondered why.
Dean Thomas went to Gryffindor and sat beside Harry Potter. The redheaded boy who was with Harry Potter earlier, Ronald Weasley, joined his family at the table of the lions. Zabini, Blaise was the last student, making it to Slytherin.
The headmaster got up to his feet and said his welcome address, along with a few reminders. Soon, food appeared on the table and Hermione happily helped herself while listening to her new housemates' conversations.
"I'm Justin Finch-Fletchley, a Muggle-born," the boy with brown curly hair said.
"Really?" she turned to her left. "I'm a Muggle-born, too. I'm from London."
"I'm from Cornwall," the boy replied. "I was supposed to go to Eton, but then my Hogwarts letter came."
"And I was supposed to go to Benenden," she grinned.
"Why aren't you in Ravenclaw, then?" he asked. "I heard it takes three to four years of preparation and only girls with really high IQ go there." He was teasing her, she could say.
Hermione felt her cheeks blush and when she looked towards Cedric's direction, he looked unhappy.
"The hat wanted to put me in Ravenclaw," she said but only looking at Cedric. "But I think Hufflepuffs are cooler."
Cedric smiled at her happily before filling her goblet with pumpkin juice. She muttered her thanks.
After the banquet, two fifth-year prefects called the first years and asked them to fall in line.
"We'll see you at the common room, Hermione." Ced suddenly appeared at her side, placing a hand on her shoulder and then went to squeeze Susan briefly to his side. Susan complained again and Ced ran away grinning.
"See you, Hermione and Sue," said Terrence and Ian before following Cedric.
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The entrance to the Hufflepuff common room was so unique, in Hermione's opinion. Of course, she had read about the entrance to different houses, though it wasn't mentioned in the book where inside the castle you could find them.
"Our House is located in the basement near the kitchens," said the female Prefect, Henley Abbott - Hannah Abbott's sister as they were walking down the stairs from the ground floor to the basement. "I'll tell you a secret: you'll never get hungry - just go to the kitchens and say the words nicely. Food will appear."
Once in the basement, they turned right down the corridor and found a pile of large barrels,. "These barrels - " Henley pointed the two at the bottom, "and this one," she pointed at the middle of the second row, "will open if tapped like this." She demonstrated, and the barrels opened, revealing an entrance hole that was quite big - enough for three tall people to enter.
"The theme was Helga Hufflepuff," said the male Prefect, Thaddeus Smith. "Come on, you lot, the other prefects are waiting. We'll introduce you to them and Professor Sprout, our Head of House will assign foster families to Muggle-borns and some half-bloods."
Hermione found the Hufflepuff common room really cozy. It was decorated in bee-like colours: yellow and black. She thought it was befitting because most Hufflepuffs were hardworking. Meaning, they work as busy as bees. There were several honey-coloured (just like the round door) wooden tables, The windows were round as well, and she could see a lot of indoor plants in between wooden circular shelves - she felt excited to browse the books. There were a few portraits above the mantle: portraits of Helga Hufflepuff - holding a two-handled golden cup, and Newton Scamander. They weren't moving a lot, just smiling and looking down at them.
Professor Sprout assigned Susan Bones and Cedric Diggory to be her foster families, while the Fawleys were to look after Justin. The Prefects also reminded them to always ask when in doubt. They promised they would never get fed up if they ask sensible questions.
When Hermione slept that night in the first-year female dormitory with Susan and Hannah, she felt thankful. Thankful that finally, she felt accepted.