oooh, a new chapter! amazing!
When they arrived at the edge of the lake hours later, Rose and Al were greeted with a suffocating hug from Hagrid.
"Got 'here alright then?"
Their half giant friend asked them, probably a bit louder than he meant to.
"Yeah,"
The two first years replied breathlessly, looking around. The view of the castle, with it's reflection on the lake, was astounding. All of the windows glowed with warm light, making the school seem mysterious and welcoming at the same time. The stars shone brightly, adding to the magical feeling. Rose kicked Hagrid gently to get his attention.
"Are those the boats?"
She asked eagerly, pointing to a small fleet at the waters edge.
"Wha-? Oh yeh, that's them. Alright, firs' years, over 'ere!"
Hagrid yelled to the scared looking bunch of kids.
"No more 'an four to a boat, c'mon!"
Rose and Albus clambered into a boat, followed by a girl with blond curls and a boy who could have been a younger, fatter copy of James.
"I'm Corbin, Corbin Donally,"
the boy held out his hand.
"I'm Albus Potter,"
he said, shaking Corbin's hand.
"And this is Rose Weasley,"
Al continued before Rose could introduce herself. She shot him an annoyed look as she shook Corbin's hand.
"I'm Andrea Bunting. Most people call me Andy,"
the girl smiled at them.
"I'm so excited to be here!"
Andrea exclaimed as they neared the castle.
"I know, me too! I feel like I've been waiting forever!"
Rose agreed.
"So...your parents are...?"
Corbin questioned.
"Yeah, they are. Hagrid! Are we almost there?"
Al answered, and changed the subject quickly, yelling at Hargid who was ahead of them.
"You know Hagrid?"
Andrea turned to Rose in amazement.
"Oh yeah, he comes over for dinner and stuff all the time,"
Rose replied happily.
"My Mum talks about him all the time. She works for the Ministry negotiating on behalf of other magical races. She says that this is just the kind of thing our world needs, is some one responsible like Hagrid working at Hogwarts to show everyone that other races are just as smart and capable as wizards are,"
Andrea beamed at Hagrid's back in admiration.
Rose did her best not to laugh at anyone referring to Hagrid as "responsible".
Albus and Corbin were discussing which houses they hoped to be in.
"I really hope I'm in Gryffindor, but I guess I'd be ok with any of them. Except Slytherin..."
Al said excitedly, and Corbin nodded.
"Right. I think I'll probably be in Hufflepuff, all of my relatives have been there."
"What about you?"
Rose asked Andrea.
"Well, everyone thinks I'll be in Gryffindor because my Mum was there, but I don't know. Ravenclaw would be alright I suppose...You?"
"I think I'll probably be in Ravenclaw or Huflepuff,"
Rose smiled. True, both her parents had been in Gryffindor, but she herself had never been, or felt, very brave. She preferred to avoid conflicts, and never knew what to do with herself when they couldn't be avoided. Hagrids booming voice interrupted them.
"Alright, c'mon, into the hall! Now you lot wait 'ere, they'll let you in soon!"
All of the first years bustled into a large hallway where they'd been told to wait. After a few minutes a middle aged wizard entered and spoke to them.
"Welcome to Hogwarts! I'm Professor Longbottom. You're about to enter the Great Hall to be sorted into your Houses. While you're here you will eat with your House, have class with your House, and compete to gain points for the House Cup. After you have been sorted, go sit with your house and we'll begin eating. Now follow me,"
and with that he opened the huge wooden doors and led them to the end of the Great Hall to where a shabby looking hat was sitting on a stool. Rose could feel all the other students staring at them as the hat sang it's song. Looking around, she caught Scorpius' eye. He recognized her and started making his way over to her. She didn't see the other two that had been on the train with him, so they must have been older...
"What is he doing..."
Albus growled, watching the blond boy.
"I imagine he's going to talk to us. What have you got against him anyway?"
"Donally, Corbin!"
"He's a stuck up prick, that's what. Have you forgotten about the train this morning?!"
"GRYFFINDOR!"
Rose stared at him disbelievingly for a second.
"Al! You were there! It was that girl!"
"Torres, Belinda!"
"Didn't stop her though, did he?"
Al said fiercely.
"SLYTHERIN!"
Rose was speechless.
"Potter, Albus!"
Al walked off, still glaring, seconds before Scorpius reached her.
"Hi, I'm Scorpius Malfoy,"
he smiled and offered her his hand. She took it, but was still too surprised by her cousin to manage a smile in return.
"Rose Weasley,"
she said, even though she knew he knew who she was.
"GRYFFINDOR!"
He took a deep breath and looked at the floor for a minute.
"I...wanted to apologize for what Geneva said on the train earlier. You looked like you might cry, and I wanted to make sure you were alright..."
He said quietly.
Rose blinked at him for a second, then blushed furiously.
"Me? Oh no, don't worry about it, I'm fine-"
"Weasley, Rose!"
Her name was called to her great relief. This wasn't exactly what you would call a conflict, it was quite the opposite. All the same, it made her flustered and unsure, so avoiding seemed like the best thing to do in Rose's opinion. The though of the whole school watching her seemed lik e nothing compared to continuing her conversation with Scorpius as she sat down on the stool and let the hat res on her head.
'Ah, a Weasley...It's been awhile since we had one of you...so now, where do you go...?'
'Anywhere, I'm happy anywhere...'
She though desperately.
'A bit preoccupied eh? Well then, I'll decide myself...'
"GRYFFINDOR!"
Rose made her way to the cheering table, keeping her eyes down until she reached Al and James. It was only once she sat down to watch the others being sorted that she realized how ironic her sorting was. Rose looked around at her fellow Gryffindors, then wouldn't let her eyes leave the sorting hat. Scorpius was been sorted into Slytherin right after her, provoking jeers and hisses from James and Albus. Corbin was in Gryffindor, and Andrea was in Ravenclaw. As the last girl was sorted into Ravenclaw, the Headmistress Minerva McGonagall stood up and called them all to be quiet.
"Welcome, and welcome back to Hogwarts! I want to remind you as we start this year that, despite your separate Houses, this school is meant to be a place of unity and friendship. I encourage you to not be limited by your Houses when it comes to sociality. Now, we'll sing the school song and then you may eat!"
As soon as they finished singing the song, countless types of food appeared before them on the tables. Albus and Corbin were talking excitedly about something, leaving Rose feeling rather alone all of a sudden. She moved her food around on her plate, not really wanting to eat anything. James seemed to notice her change in mood and poked her gently.
"Are you ok?"
She looked up at him quickly.
"I'm fine."
The look on his face guaranteed he didn't believe her.
"Are you still upset about what they said on the train? Don't pay any attention to them, those kids don't know shit about your parents, or anything,"
"James Potter, I'm going to write your mother about your language,"
Rose threatened jokingly. They both smiled before she grew serious again.
"But James, it wasn't them. Scorpius didn't say anything mean at all, he even cam over and apologized to me about her too. Why are you two so set on hating him, you don't even know him?"
"Neither do you,"
James gave her a curious look. He seemed to find it very odd that she was standing up for some one who was obviously no good.
Rose rolled her eyes at him.
"You're right, and I don't hate him."
James shrugged as if to say, 'whatever, we'll see', and turned back to his friends.
Rose got around to putting some of her food in her mouth and discovered that it was very good. For the first time since they'd been sorted she looked around the room. Scorpius was laughing with his friends. Rose smiled and decided that she should do the same, joining in on Al's conversation with Corbin.
OK. I found out after I wrote this that McGonagall is not actually the headmistress, due to oldness. But you know what, whatever, I think she's cool and I don't think I can come up with a better person for it.
Suggestions are greatly appreciated!