Chapter Six
"Firs' years!" came the booming voice of a humongous man with wild, bushy hair and a beard to match. "Firs' years follow me! No more 'n four to a boat!"
Cain's jaw dropped as the enormous man, as tall as two average-sized men and as wide as three, stepped toward him with his feet the size of wild hogs and hands as large as table tops. Sebastian elbowed Cain, making him snap his mouth closed. All the first years followed the half-giant to a massive, glassy lake where a bunch of tiny row boats were floating. Sebastian had never released Cain's wrist and he lead them to one of the small boats that already held Ravie and Nicholas.
"Leave yer trunks, they'll be taken up to the castle separately," they heard him holler. "Right then, e'ryone where they oughter be?"
He climbed into a boat that clearly shouldn't have been able to hold his weight, and announced, "My name's Rubeus Hagrid, but e'ryone jus' calls me Hagrid."
Hagrid tapped a pink umbrella on the side of his small boat and the entire fleet lurched forward. Sebastian had released Cain's arm upon climbing into the small boat, but Cain scooted closer to him when their tiny boat set sail.
"Alright, firs' years, duck your heads!" Hagrid shouted as they came to the cliff upon which sat the school of witchcraft and wizardry. "Yeh'll get yer first view of the castle in a moment."
Cain and his shipmates ducked down low to avoid getting their heads knocked off completely. Sebastian looked over to Cain with excitement in his eyes at getting to finally see the castle. Cain smiled in return, even though he was beginning to feel sick again. He looked up as they came out of from underneath the cliff and Hogwarts Castle came into view.
The castle was huge. All Cain could see of the building was the high turrets and the windows lit with warm yellow light. The closer they came to the castle, the more Cain's heart began to race; both with excitement and fear. He looked down to see that his hands had begun to shake so he crossed his arms, stuffing his fists underneath.
As the little vessels bumped against land, the students spilled out onto the shore. Cain and Sebastian, along with Nicholas and Ravie, walk up to the castle doors together. Hagrid knocked three booming times and the doors were pulled open to reveal a tall, very stern-looking witch standing in the doorway to the Entrance Hall. She welcomed the students to stand just outside the Great Hall.
"The firs' years, Professor," Hagrid said.
"Thank you, Hagrid. I'll take them from here." She turned to the group of eleven-year-olds.
"Welcome to Hogwarts," said the Headmistress. "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 is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your House will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your House, sleep in your House dormitory and spend free time in your House common room." She folded her hands together in front of her.
"The four Houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. Each House has its own history and each has produced spectacular witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your House points, while any rule-breaking will lose them. At the end of the year, the House with the most points is awarded the House Cup: a great honour. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever House becomes yours." McGonagall looked sternly at the group of children.
"The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all straightened yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting." Cain nervously tried to straighten his tie, black with white diagonal stripes, and smoothed a hand over his hair in an attempt to make himself more presentable.
"I will return when we are ready for you," said Professor McGonagall. "Please wait quietly." She turned and stalked back through the massive doors from which she'd entered.
Cain thought he saw something hanging above him and gasped as he turned his face up to look at the ghost sitting cross-legged in midair directly above his head. The silvery, see-through man had a nasty grin on his face. He was holding a handful of some kind of sticks. The ghost let out a cackle and threw the maybe thirty-something sticks into the air over the crowd of first years. He zoomed away with the obnoxious squealing sound of a balloon being stretched.
"Peeves!" a second ghost shouted. This one looked maybe seventeen with a headful of what was once probably flaming red hair. "What have we said about pranks on the first day of the first years?"
Peeves just responded with another loud cackle from somewhere in the distance. The younger ghost shook his head ruefully and looked apologetically at the first years.
"Come, children," McGonagall said from the doorway to the Great Hall. "The Ceremony is about to start."
Headmistress McGonagall lead them through the gigantic doorway and onto a stage in front of four long tables filled with hundreds of students. The staff table was situated behind the first years. Cain felt his heart drop to the pit of his stomach and his hands begin to shake again.
McGonagall left the stage for a moment only to return with a stool and a frayed, dusty, shabby-looking hat that seemed about a thousand years old. Cain looked at the hat for a moment, briefly wondering if they were going to have to try and pull something from it. Then a large rip appeared at the brim like the large mouth of a bass and began to sing:
A thousand years or more ago
When I was newly sewn,
There lived four wizards of renown,
Whose names are still well known:
Bold Gryffindor, from wild moor,
Fair Ravenclaw, from glen,
Sweet Hufflepuff, from valley broad,
Shrewd Slytherin, from fen.
They shared a wish, a hope, a dream,
They hatched a daring plan
To educate young sorcerers
Thus Hogwarts School began.
Now each of these four founders
Formed their own house, for each
Did value different virtues
In the ones they had to teach.
By Gryffindor, the bravest were
Prized far beyond the rest;
For Ravenclaw, the cleverest
Would always be the best;
For Hufflepuff, hard workers were
Most worthy of admission;
And power-hungry Slytherin
Loved those of great ambition.
While still alive they did divide
Their favourites from the throng,
Yet how to pick the worthy ones
When they were dead and gone?
Twas Gryffindor who found the way,
He whipped me off his head
The founders put some brains in me
So I could choose instead!
Now slip me snug about your ears,
I've never yet been wrong,
I'll have a look inside your mind
And tell where you belong!
At the moment, Cain wasn't feeling any of these traits, especially not ambitiousness, cleverness, or bravery. He watched as McGonagall walked back onto the stage with a large roll of parchment.
"When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted," she said.
Cain swallowed hard as she began calling names; last name, then first. She started with "Abbay, Lorelai" who was sorted into Hufflepuff as soon as the hat touched her head. Cain felt a wave of relief when he realised that this was all he'd have to do. Just try on a hat. No big deal.
But what are you gonna do when the hat doesn't say anything? that annoying little voice in his head asked, When it stays silent. What will you do then, eh boy? Cain's breathing quickened and his heart pounded double-time. Sebastian glanced over at Cain and bumped him with his shoulder. Cain jumped and dragged in a deep breath, trying to calm himself.
"You'll be fine," Sebastian mouthed to him. Cain nodded slightly and turned back to watch "Elkins, Sam" be sorted into Ravenclaw and then "Elm, Jennifer" was the first in Gryffindor. Cain was nearly deafened by the roar that must've been from the Gryffindor table. Cain noticed that, as Jennifer took her seat, her tie had changed from black and white, to scarlet and gold. He searched the Ravenclaw table for Sam and saw that his tie had turned to blue and bronze.
Before he knew it, he heard "Kripke, Alan" and was slightly confused at first as he watched Sebastian walk up to take his turn on the stool. The hat was on his head for a few seconds before it shouted, "HUFFLEPUFF!" and he went down to take his seat. Cain saw that his tie had transformed to canary yellow and black.
I hope it puts me in Hufflepuff, Cain thought, I want to have at least one friend in my House.
"Nemora, Penelope" was the first Slytherin. Cain was now trying to calm himself by watching as the ties of his fellow first years changed into the colours of their House. Slytherin must've been green and silver.
The hat had barely brushed the hair of "Northwood, Thomas" before it shouted "SLYTHERIN!" and he swaggered over to join Nemora with the cheering group of Slytherins as his tie morphed to green and silver.
On Cain's other side, "Ravenwood, Raven" left the long line of first years for her place on the stool. She was quickly sorted into Ravenclaw, which was no surprise given the irony of her name, along with "Sherlock, James". Afterward, "Taylor, Sherry" was placed into Hufflepuff, then it was "Telford, Nicholas" into Gryffindor.
"Tenebris, Jacob!" Cain nearly didn't take the trip up the the stool, as he'd been listening for Tenebris, Cain.
With trembling hands, Cain lifted the worn out hat and sat atop the stool and lowered the hat onto his head.
"Hmm," he heard in his ear, "You seem to be clever, also very brave-" Cain snorted under his breath. "No? Hmm.. You'll be great in RAVENCLAW!"
Cain took a sudden deep breath and almost choked on it as he hurried to rest the battered hat once again onto the stool. He stood and hurried over to the table full of cheers and watched as his tie colours switched from black and white to blue and bronze. He glanced over to Sebastian as he took his seat next to Ravie and they gave each other a thumbs up. His stomach started to settle now that he actually had a place in the school. He looked up to the stage to watch the last few people being sorted.
"Yuhas, Lindsey"was sorted into Hufflepuff and "Zimmerman, Jared" was sorted into Gryffindor. The poor end-of-the-alphabetters; Cain's heart reached out to them. As Zimmerman took his seat with screaming Gryffindors, Professor McGonagall stood to quiet the Great Hall.
"Before we begin our feast," she started, "I would like to make it perfectly clear that every student is forbidden to enter the forest for it is extremely dangerous. Everyone must be in the dormitories by eight o'clock. No later. For anyone who wishes to roam the halls later than that, you will be punished." McGonagall looked sternly at each House table to be sure that her message had been well received by every student.
"Now we shall enjoy our feast!"
Cain excitedly noticed that every golden dish that had been empty moments before, now held any type of food one could imagine. There were heaping piles of potatoes, towering stacks of buttered rolls. Cain wanted to try a bit of everything! He hadn't realised just how hungry he was until the wonderful mixed smell of the food wafted over him. His stomach rumbled as he used his fork and knife to pull a juicy steak onto his gleaming plate, followed by a large scoop of steaming mashed potatoes.
He listened in on the conversations going on around him as he cut his steak and nearly choked when the shimmering ghost of a handsomely dressed woman drifted passed him.
"When I was only a baby, maybe three or so," he heard Sam Elkins say, "my older brother thought it would be a great joke to feed me a handful of hiccough sweets."
"Oh no!" came the gasp of a second year girl Cain didn't know the name of.
"Oh yes!" Sam laughed. "I thought my mother would've beaten him to death that day."
Why would a mother be that angry over one of her children giving the other some sweets? Cain thought to himself.
"Where are you from?" he heard coming from another chat.
"Oh, I'm from Belfast," came the reply of an Irish girl with long brunette curls. "We'd been anticipating my letter for weeks before my birthday and I'd already had all my school things beforehand, well, except for my books, of course."
"My family's from London originally, but we'd moved out to Liverpool to get away from the majority of them," another girl laughed. "What about you, mate?"
Cain looked up as he shoveled in a bite of bread. He hadn't been expecting to be brought into any sort of chatter.
"Oh, he's an American," Ravie answered for him while he hurried to empty his mouth.
"I'm from Ohio," he told the girls, "It's in the eastern part America; just about a nine hour drive to the coast."
"Oh, wow!" said the Irish girl. "That's so far from here!"
Cain nodded solemnly.
"Do you miss being in America?" asked the girl from Liverpool. "I'm Deanna, by the way, and this is Cassie." The girls held their hands out to Cain. He introduced himself as he nodded that he did miss home.
"Well, perhaps you'll be able to go back to visit during Christmas or summer break."
"I don't know about that," Cain looked down at his lap. "My dad'll probably be too busy to be able leave for that long." Deanna nodded in understanding.
Ravie gestured for Cain to pass the pitcher of pumpkin juice as she went on babbling to Deanna and Cassie where she was from and what each of their families did for the holidays. All throughout the conversation, Cain answered when he was spoken to. Other than that, he foolishly allowed himself to miss his family and and friends back home and wondered what they were doing and if they missed him.
After the dessert had been whisked away, Headmistress McGonagall had stood again and waited the Great Hall to once again become silent.
"I want to wish you all goodnight!" she announced. "Prefects, if you would, please lead your House to your dormitories."
Cain looked up at the older boy and girl that now stood at his end of the table, their chests puffed out with pride.
"First years," the boy announced to the table. "I am Simon Xavier, and this is Jessica Lowry. We are the prefects of Ravenclaw House. Please follow us to our dormitories."
All of the first years, their bellies full and legs feeling leaden, stood to follow as the prefects showed the way through the incredibly confusing corridors and dim hallways. As they passed a suit of armor, Cain could've sworn that it had changed its position. Passing by the portraits, Cain could actually hear them talking to each other. He had accepted the fact that pictures could move in the wizard world, but now they can speak to each other? How bizarre! He said so to Ravie, who chuckled and rolled her eyes at his ignorance.
The group of children followed the prefects up an incredibly long spiral staircase and stopped at a dead end. Cain looked around, confused as to why two prefects would lead their group to a dead end at the top of a staircase. Then he noticed the medium sized bronze door knocker in the shape of an eagle.
"Our common room, unlike any other house, doesn't need to have a concealed entrance," Simon informed them. "We do not need one. The door lies behind this enchanted knocker."
"When you tap the door," Jessica continued, "this knocker will ask you a question, and if you can answer it correctly, you are allowed in. This simple barrier has kept out anyone but Ravenclaws for nearly a thousand years."
"First years, like yourselves, are sometimes intimidated by the knocker's questions, but don't worry too much about it. Ravenclaws learn quickly, and you'll soon enjoy the challenges the door sets. It isn't unusual to find twenty or so people crowded by the knocker trying to figure out the answer," Simon laughed. "This is also a fantastic way to meet other Ravenclaws from different years, and to learn from them-although, it's a bit annoying if you've forgotten your Quidditch robes and need to get back in in a hurry." It sounded as though Simon was speaking from experience. "I'd advise you to triple check your bags before leaving the common room."
"Now, let's see what the door has to ask us for tonight," Jessica suggested as she turned to rap her knuckles against the wall near the bronze eagle.
"What goes on four feet in the morning, two feet at noon, and three feet in the evening?" the eagle asked of them.
The group of Ravenclaws stood silent as they thought over the question, well mostly silent. Some were mumbling to themselves or a friend as they racked their brains for an answer. Cain gasped as the answer came to him, but he didn't want to bring attention to himself by shouting it out. Unfortunately for him, Ravie heard his sharp intake of breath and outed his discovery.
"I believe Cain's got the answer," she told the group loudly. Cain shot her a dirty look; she gave him a smug smile.
"Well?" Simon gestured for him to suggest his answer.
"Go on then," Jessica encouraged.
"Man," Cain whispered. He cleared his throat and said it again, louder. "The answer is mankind. Because a person crawls on his hands and knees as a baby, he walks on two feet as an adult, and with a cane as an old man."
The first years watched in awe as the door magically swung inward to reveal a large circular common room filled with plush chairs, with lamps next to each one perfect for curling up with a good book, gathered around the fireplace. There were tall arched windows overlooking the school grounds as well as the glassy lake they had sailed across that evening. From where he was standing, Cain could see what looked like some sort of playing field, but he couldn't figure out why the golden hoops stood so high off the ground.
"Well done, Cain!" Jessica praised him. Cain ducked his head as he felt his cheeks begin to redden.
"Good job, mate." Simon slapped him hard on the back. He grunted in surprise.
"Right then, first year boys follow me," said Simon.
"And the girls with me." Jessica lead the girls off to the right of the common room toward a door that Cain hadn't noticed earlier. Simon lead the boys to a similar door to the left.
The five boys-Sam Elkins, Jeremy Reedus, Liam Wesson, Mason Wright, and Cain-followed Simon up the small staircase that lead to a door with a sign reading "First Years".
"This will be your room," Simon told the boys. "Your trunks have already been brought up and are at the foot of your beds." Cain wondered how they could have known who would be in which house before hand.
Sam twisted the knob of the door and pushed it open, revealing a spacious room containing five four-poster beds with sky blue eiderdowns hanging around each one. Cain could hear the faint sounds of a breeze slightly rattling past the windows and knew that he'd fall asleep quickly that night.
"I'll leave you to it," said Simon backing towards the door. "Goodnight."
"Goodnight," the boys mumbled tiredly in unison.
Cain shuffled toward his trunk and dug out some pajamas and quickly crawled into bed, pulling the soft down blankets up to his chin. Within seconds all five boys were breathing deeply with sleep. They would have a big day tomorrow.