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The ride in the boat was exhilarating as we rounded the corner and took our first glance at the castle. It was magnificent just in its sheer size alone. I had never come close to seeing anything like it and I suspected the others hadn't either. The five of us shared a boat which was magically steering itself across the lake. This was definitely the second bit of unimaginable magic I had witnessed today.
The massive castle quickly approached as we arrived at the opposite shoreline. We were all talking in excitement as we embarked on our first official entrance into the school. I was gawking at the castle which we would all soon call home and was amazed by its level of grandeur.
We were now waiting just outside the supposed Great Hall where a Professor McGonagall had left us moments ago. I was so nervous that I became aware my palms were starting to sweat. I tried to think about the kind words Fred and the others told me encouragingly on the train, and also of my mother's past with her ability to maintain her own friendships. However, right now it was hard to have confidence in either scenario. Before I could panic too much though the large doors we were standing in front of opened. We were then promptly ushered into a Great Hall by Professor McGonagall whom I could see leading the large group of first years. It was even more nerve-wracking to see the rest of the school staring at us in interest and anticipation of who would permanently join their houses.
I barely heard the professor's instructions but quickly noticed the old, haphazard looking hat she placed upon a stool. Even more intriguingly, it noticeably started to sing. Taken aback at the sheer impossibility of the situation, this was most definitely the third piece of extraordinary magic I had witnessed today. When the hat finished its song the entire school applauded loudly at its presentation of school spirit, loyalty, and allegiance. Professor McGonagall then started to call up first years alphabetically. We had to wait awhile before Angelina Johnson was called up. It was almost instantaneous before the hat yelled GRYFFINDOR from atop her head. Angelina smiled profusely as she ran over to the table with the loudest applause, with every member standing up in ovation. The level of excitement in welcoming Angelina to their house seemed like pandemonium. It was touching how truly excited all of the older students were to welcome first years they hadn't even met into their houses.
Lee Jordan was right after Angelina. He didn't look nearly as confident as he had seemed on the train- figures. But the same thing happened as Angelina, where the ratty old hat yelled out GRYFFINDOR after only seconds of being placed on his head. Lee was also met with the same level of excitement from the older Gryffindors.
There were only two students after Lee before I heard Professor McGonagall call my name.
"Marnie O'Hara" she said in her authoritative sounding voice.
I hadn't really gotten a good look at the professor before when she briefly introduced herself to the first years when we had all arrived at the lake-shore. Now, I could see her worn features did not diminish the level of authority and respect she obviously maintained. But, behind her stern look I could tell that she hid something softer. Or at least something less formative.
I looked away from the professor only once I was beside the stool, to which I promptly sat down. I looked out over the crowd and scanned the four long tables. I couldn't help thinking that the length of the tables alone would probably fit twice the length of my entire house. Then, I surveyed each table individually and noticed the different colours signifying each house. I obviously knew Gryffindor was red since that is where Lee and Angelina were now sitting, looking at me encouragingly. I also knew that Hufflepuff was yellow since that was the colour of my mother's banner that had hung on my bedroom wall since I was young. The other two I could also decipher honestly due to the different manner of the students either dressed in blue or green. The green-adorned students all sat up straighter and didn't exude as much outward excitement as the other three houses. I also saw some of the students who sat closer to the front of the hall looking up at me with sneers on their faces. Amongst them was the horrible boy we had met at Hogsmeade station. He had already been sorted into Slytherin. His name was Marcus Flint.
Professor McGonagall then placed the hat on my head and I almost yelped in shock when the hat started talking inside my head.
"Ah, yes, O'Hara. I remember your uncle being sorted years ago. He was fiercely protective of your father was he not? He was easily sorted into Hufflepuff along with your mother Lena Tress. She was very selfless your mother, an example of all the Hufflepuff qualities not unlike yourself." The hat paused as if contemplating something silently on its own. "I see your family has passed many of their traits onto you which you now embody. But I sense a deeper need which will undoubtedly come to pass. I can see the bravery you hold and I sense there will be many instances where this bravery will be necessary in order to carry on. In order to survive. It is not the physical or bold bravery that most Gryffindor's outwardly possess but the ability to move forward and depend on others as well as protecting the ones you hold dear. There is much to uncover in yourself and in your future so I believe I now know the best place to put you..." The voice in my head before it cut out as if a radio had been forcefully unplugged. Then I heard a louder voice over top of my head.
"GRYFFINDOR!" the voice boomed before I saw all those students wearing red robes jump up off the benches such as they had for Angelina and Lee. As soon as McGonagall took the hat off my head I leapt off the stool and almost ran towards the open seat beside Angelina. Lee was sitting on the other side of the table and both of them had huge grins and were giving high fives. A few of the older students leaned over to shake my hand or clasp my shoulder as a brief welcome into their house. I couldn't have been more ecstatic about being accepted into the same house as my new friends. When I sat down moments later and the noise died down, I looked up to see the next student being sorted. Watching the sorting now made me start contemplating what the hat told me. I had sort of forgotten about my father's brother since my father didn't usually talk about him. I knew there was a picture back in our sitting room on the mantel of him and my father holding a large fish they caught near their childhood home. I also knew he was a wizard and had actually been friends with my mother while they had both been students. But it had been years since I had heard my dad speak of him.
Before I could think of any of the other ominous things the hat had said in my head the hat was announcing that the next student was being placed into Ravenclaw. I clapped and focused my attention back to the two red heads who were at the end of the line of first years. They were giving us a thumbs up and Lee, Angelina and I were laughing out of excitement and anticipation for their sorting. Finally, after about 10 more minutes Professor McGonagall called out 'Fred Weasley'.
Fred bounded up the steps and easily took his place on the stool. In even less time than it had taken the hat to decide Lee and Angelina the hat exclaimed that Fred would also be joining Gryffindor. We all hollered in excitement as Fred ran over to the table with his hands shaking above his head victoriously. Fred took his place beside Lee who clasped Fred's hand before both of them sat down. Angelina and I were also looking at Fred with huge grins and clapping fiercely. We all eventually went quiet to see George receive the same fate as his twin brother. George made a similar entrance like Fred towards our table and took his place beside me. I gave him a hug which he returned just for Angelina to join in, forcing me to be stuck in the middle. George was the last student to be sorted which caused the whole Great Hall to become louder in excitement over the newest additions to each house. The five of us were all looking at each other happily, taking in the great fortune of all being sorted into the same house- not that any of us ever doubted it. Another red head soon came over to our section and congratulated all of us, especially Fred and George, for being sorted into Gryffindor.
"Thanks Perce," George said from beside me which made me look up at the new boy inquisitively. So this must be Fred and George's brother that they had mentioned on the train. He had horned-rimmed glasses and was just as lean as the twins. Not as muscular however or as tall. He was obviously older than all of us but it only seemed to be by a year or two. No sooner had Percy left us to return to his seat that another red head approached our end of the table. This boy was obviously older and broader than the other three red heads. He had even more freckles on his face and longer hair. He also seemed the more outdoorsy type than the others whom I assumed again were all brothers. I would need to get better acquainted with the twins to learn more about their family. We hadn't really talked about any of our families on the train ride, but there was obviously lots of time to learn.
"Hey Charlie!" Fred exclaimed from the other side of the table.
The taller boy smiled back at his younger brothers before surveying all of us.
"I see you have already made some new friends," he said with a smile.
"Yea, we all knew we were destined for Gryffindor which is how we knew we were associating with the right kind of people," Fred said with a wink. "This is Lee," he motioned with his hand towards his right, "and that is Angelina and Marnie," he finished, moving his hand around the table.
"We all sat together on the train." George added in explanation.
Charlie smiled again.
"Well it's great to meet all of you and I'm sure we will all become better acquainted. I am your prefect after all."
He looked at all of us as if sizing up for the amount of trouble we would cause. But, he smiled and continued.
"I just wanted to congratulate you two trouble-makers on continuing the family legacy and to meet your new friends."
He then returned to his seat after Fred and George thanked him.
"Oh, by the way, the password is 'hippogriff'. You'll need to tell that to the portrait before being allowed to enter the common room." Charlie said mysteriously before walking to his original seat, presumably with his own friends.
I then glanced back to the rest of the group with a confused look on my face.
"What does he mean you have to tell the portrait?" I asked, not even comprehending what that could mean.
Fred looked over at me with an amused look on his face. "Didn't your mum go to Hogwarts; how can you be so confused about a talking portrait?"
Before I could come up with my answer Angelina interrupted, "Her mum was in Hufflepuff you tosser, how is she supposed to know the Gryffindor secret if her mum never even knew?"
She looked at Fred expectantly for a reply.
This caused Lee to start laughing and George to look a little apologetic for his twin's ongoing bluntness. It wasn't Fred's comment that had bothered me so much, I mean all of them had grown up with magical parents so they were knowledgeable about such things. I just wasn't as accustomed since my father couldn't very well show me and my mother wasn't around.
But before I let it get too awkward, with Fred not having an immediate comeback, I changed the subject.
"Fred, George, how many brothers do you actually have?" I asked looking at both of them inquisitively.
They both smiled back and answered simultaneously. "Four."
"Plus one sister who's also the youngest," George added.
"Wow, your poor mother, I thought you two were more than enough to handle," I answered smugly which caused Lee to start laughing again.
In turn, this caused Fred to swat him on the shoulder.
"You think you're so witty, don't you Hare?" Fred asked with a challenging look in his eyes.
This new nickname made me stop short of coming up with another comeback. Hare was the nickname my mother had given my father from the first time they met as kids. When their group of friends were all hanging out, my mother would refer to him and my uncle as the Hare brothers. It was sort of strange now for someone to be giving me the same name.
Fred had mistaken my brief silence for disliking the new name which caused him to dawn a devilish grin.
"Ha, I've won this round Hare. This is also your new name which you will now be forever referred to as," Fred continued to grin, giving me a challenging look for me to object.
I honestly didn't mind the new name, plus it made me feel even closer to my mother on a day I really wished I could have shared with her. I just had to make sure my dad never heard it; I didn't think he would appreciate it very much. But, since we never had any visitors anyways, I didn't think it would ever be a problem.
"Ok, I'll accept the name," I paused watching the smile grow on his face, "but for me to accept it peacefully you will forever have to save me from any danger. Live up to that Gryffindor family legacy you keep bragging on about."
I chuckled, waiting for him to react to my condition. I was surprised though to see his face change to a more serious look before he nodded in acceptance.
"Hare, I will always protect you, from any danger from now and always. You have my word."
He then stood up and offered his hand for me to shake. I stood up grinning and took it. His face remained serious which slightly baffled me since I had meant the condition jokingly. As we sat back down I looked over at George who only shrugged his shoulders. The other two were chuckling at our antics. But, before I could ask Fred anything, an older man approached the podium at the centre of the staff table. He had the longest, whitest beard I had ever seen and deep purple robes. I recognized him from my chocolate frog card collection as Albus Dumbledore, the school's headmaster. He told us that between our excitement and hunger he would wait to make his announcements until after the feast. He then sat down which prompted an assortment of food to appear on the plates that had previously been empty. The food smelled incredibly delicious as I started piling one of everything onto my plate. This prompted Lee to stare at me questioningly.
"Oi, Marnie, you're the smallest one here. Are you really going to eat all that food?" Lee asked skeptically.
I grinned back at him, "Just watch me."
As I ate all the delicious food, that somehow tasted even better than it looked, I thought back to this morning with my dad. My life had significantly changed from just this morning and it was almost incomprehensible to believe that I had already made new friends, been sorted into a house, and had finally made it to Hogwarts after all my years of waiting. I was almost afraid it was a dream since everything had so far worked out better than I ever expected or hoped for. I smiled up at my new housemates and couldn't help thinking that as incredible as it all was, the O'Hara feast still could not be replaced.