Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.
Chapter 5
Once we got to the end lake, we all began to unload onto the shore not far from the castle. I happily handed over the toad to Neville as we began to walk toward the castle. When we finally approached the castle after leaving the boathouse, we were told to wait in the corridors that led into what was called The Great Hall and await further instruction. Finishing his job by leading us into the castle, Hagrid joined the rest of the staff and students in the Great Hall without us. There was chattering amongst the first years for a moment before a boy spoke up for us all to hear.
"I heard that Harry and Emily Potter are here," the boy said.
Everyone went quiet and looked over to the person who spoke, and I saw the blonde boy that I spoke to earlier about Neville's lost toad. When I looked over at Harry, he had an apprehensive look on his face when he saw who was speaking.
"That was the boy I spoke to in the robe shop," Harry whispered to me.
Once everyone saw who was talking, the chattering started up again, but it seemed that everyone had the same topic in mind now. They wanted to know where we were.
"Is that true?" one girl asked.
"The Potters are here?" someone else asked.
"Where are they?" the blonde-haired boy asked. "I'd like to meet them."
"I think this is them," a boy next to me said. "Right over here - am I right?"
In that moment, I felt like crawling into a hole. I didn't want this kind of attention all at once and, from the looks of it, neither did Harry. The entire class of first years gawked at us as if we were something to look at in the zoo, and I had never felt more awkward in my life - which was saying something.
"Er...hello," I waved and felt my face getting hotter.
"You're Emily Potter?" the blonde-haired boy said in disbelief. "I guess I misjudged you on the train. My name is Draco Malfoy. And you must be Harry?"
He held out his hand in between Harry and me. Harry just looked at him for a minute, so we wouldn't all just be standing there looking at one another.
"I'm going to give you both some advice," Draco said after shaking my hand. "I think you're hanging around the wrong crowd. I can help you with that."
"The wrong crowd?" Harry asked.
Draco's eyes darted over to Ron and Neville who were standing just next to us. He eyed them up and down with a look of disgust on his face.
"Red hair, freckles, and hand-me-down robes," Draco scoffed. "You must be a Weasley. That's what I mean by the wrong crowd. You're the Potters - you don't need to be around his kind."
Ron's face went completely red, clearly embarrassed, but did not say a word to Draco Malfoy.
"I think we can choose who we want to be around for ourselves," Harry said with a dark look on his face.
Draco looked like he was about to say something, but he was stopped when our attention was taken from an older woman who stepped up behind him. She had a tight bun on the top of her head, green robes, and a look that demanded attention. She cleared her throat when she saw Draco still had his back to her when everyone else was already looking directly at her.
"Hello, and welcome to Hogwarts," the woman said. "I am Professor McGonagall and I will be leading you into the start of the year banquet in the Great Hall in a moment for the Sorting ceremony. There, you will be sorted into one of four houses: Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Slytherin, or Hufflepuff. These houses will be your family during your stay here at Hogwarts, and we expect you all to be a benefit to them all. You will help your house throughout the year by representing them well in the hopes of earning honor and house points, and you will try to avoid breaking the rules at the cost of dishonoring your house and losing house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points will be awarded the House Cup - a great honor at Hogwarts. Now, wait here a moment and try to make yourselves presentable. I will be back in a moment when we are ready for you."
When she left the room, the chattering started up again.
"How do we get sorted into the houses?" I asked Harry and Ron.
"Fred and George told me that there was some kind of test," Ron told us nervously.
"A test!" Hermione said, joining our conversation as she stepped over toward us. "I hope I do well! I've read nearly every book on our list."
"I've hardly read anything," Harry said. "I didn't think we had to."
"I didn't even open up a book," Ron said.
"I looked over some of the books," I said nervously. "But I didn't know we were going to be tested!"
At that moment, Professor McGonagall walked back into the corridor with an expectant look. She told us that it was time for us to attend the Sorting Ceremony and we were to walk into the Great Hall in an orderly fashion and listen for further instruction. As we lined up and the doors opened into the other room, I instantly began to panic. I hadn't read nearly enough to be ready for any kind of test, and I wasn't sure what that would mean for Sorting. I instantly began to review everything that I remembered from the potions book that I read just before leaving Privet Drive. That was the one that caught my attention the most, but I was hardly ready to be tested on it. As my part of the line got into the Great Hall, I looked back nervously at Harry and he gave me a reassuring smile. I took a deep breath and my eyes grew wide when I saw the room in its entirety.
The Great Hall was enormous. There were two long tables on each side of the line the first years walked along, and every student was looking directly at our group. Above us there were several small candles floating in the air to light up the room. On the far side of the room, just above the four long tables, there was a table with several adults, most likely the professors, who were facing toward us. One thing that really stood out to me was the presence of what seemed to be ghosts floating around the Great Hall. Most of the first years began to whisper to each other about it for a moment, but they didn't seem to faze the older students. It didn't take us long before we were standing just below the professor's table with Professor McGonagall in front of us with a single stool sitting beside her that had a large, old-looking hat on top of it. The quiet murmuring among the students instantly stopped once we were all standing in a semicircle around Professor McGonagall and the stool.
"Welcome to the Hogwarts Sorting Ceremony," Professor McGonagall announced. "One by one, each of the first year students will be called to be seated by the Sorting Hat into one of the four Hogwarts Houses: Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Slytherin, and Hufflepuff. When I call your name, take a seat on the stool."
"So there's no test?" I asked Harry and Ron.
"I guess not," Harry shrugged.
"Abbot, Hannah!" McGonagall called.
A small, blonde girl stepped forward out of the crowd of first years and her face went completely red when she sat down on the stool to see everyone staring at her. Professor McGonagall placed the large wizarding cap on the top of her head, and I was shocked when an inquisitive face suddenly formed on the front of the Sorting Hat.
"Hufflepuff!" the hat shouted.
One of the four tables, presumably other students in the Hufflepuff house, began to cheer loudly once the hat announced her house. Considering all of the strange events that happened since finding out we were a witch and wizard, I should not have been that surprised to see that a hat could talk, but it still made me jump when it yelled out the name.
Following Hannah Abbot, several other students were called in alphabetical order to take their turn getting sorted into the four houses. One of the first faces I recognized who got sorted was Hermione Granger, who was sorted into Gryffindor - the house of the brave, according to Ron whose whole family had been sorted into it. Neville Longbottom was sorted a while later, and he was also sent into Gryffindor, which surprised me considering he didn't seem like the bravest person in the world when I spoke to him on the train. Next, I recognized Draco Malfoy, who was immediately sorted into Slytherin, the house known for having witches and wizards who went bad, like Voldemort. Not long after he was sorted, I heard my own name called.
"Potter, Emily!" Professor McGonagall read.
When my name was called, there was immediate chatter that went across the room that instantly made me feel nervous. I slowly stepped forward toward the stool when something, or rather someone, caught my eye from the High Table. A pale man with nearly greasy black hair and completely black robes was eying me strangely. I was starting to get used to the strange looks people were giving me when they found out who I was, but the look on his face was odd in that it looked more haunted than anything else. When he saw me looking directly back at him, his head shot in another direction and his face paled more than it already was.
I sat down on the stool and Professor McGonagall placed the hat right on top of my head. As soon as she did, I began to hear a strange voice in my head that could only have belonged to the hat. Judging by other people's expressions, it became clear that I was the only one who could hear the hat speaking at the moment.
Hmm….interesting, the hat said inside of my head.
What's interesting? I thought to myself.
You have an interesting mind, the hat responded. I'm not sure where to put you….
What were you thinking? I asked the voice.
You have a lot of determination, the hat said. But I'm stuck between two choices. Slytherin or Gryffindor….hmmm…
I don't want to be in Slytherin, I responded.
Why not? the hat asked. You could do that house some good, but I suppose you might be right.
"GRYFFINDOR!" the hat suddenly shouted so everyone in the room could hear.
Without comprehending fully what just happened, I quickly made my way over to the furthest table once Professor McGonagall took the hat off of my head. I sat next to Neville Longbottom and Hermione Granger who were seated next to Ron Weasley's twin brothers at the moment. They all congratulated me just as I heard my brother's name called.
"Potter, Harry," Professor McGonagall called.
Everyone grew silent again as we all looked forward to watch my brother get sorted. Just as mine did, Harry's took a few moments to figure out where he belonged. I had a sudden gut wrenching feeling when I realized that there was a possibility that we could be sorted into different houses and not be able to see each other as much. I had been tied to Harry for my entire life and I didn't know what I would do if I was separated from him. I didn't have to worry about it much longer when the hat shouted,
"GRYFFINDOR!"
"WE GOT THE POTTERS!" the Weasley twins cheered above everyone else.
Harry quickly joined us over at the Gryffindor table and it took another moment for the table to be silenced so that the ceremony could continue. The remainder of the students were quickly sorted into their respective houses once we were finished. Ron was unsurprisingly sorted into the same houses as all of his family before him. Not long after Ron was sorted, the Ceremony came to a close. Once it did, the entire room became silent when an old man in a purple cloak stood up in the center of the High Table. Without any questions, I instantly knew that this was Albus Dumbledore, headmaster of the school.
"Welcome to Hogwarts!" Professor Dumbledore said. "I look forward to starting a new year with every one of you, but now is not the time for speeches…"
With the wave of his wand, plates full of food suddenly appeared on all the tables in the Great Hall. Everyone began to cheer and hardly anyone was hesitant to get started with filling up their own plates. Up until now, I didn't realize how hungry I had gotten. Trying to ignore some of the looks that Harry and I were getting from our fellow Gryffindors for our presence at the table, I began to grab for every piece of food I wanted. Once I had a few bites of food, my attention turned back to the man sitting at the High Table with the black hair and robes.
"Does anyone know who that man is up there?" I asked to the general area around my table. "The one in all black?"
"That's Professor Snape," the oldest Weasley brother piped up next to one of his younger twin brothers. "He's the Potions Master here at Hogwarts. Why do you ask?"
"I'm not sure," I said as I looked at Professor Snape curiously. "He just gave me the strangest look when I was getting sorted."
"I wouldn't take it too seriously," the redheaded boy said. "Snape has a bad temper and hardly takes kindly to anyone outside of Slytherin House. He's been bitter as long as anyone has known him because he's always been after the Defence Against the Dark Arts position."
"Oh, okay," I said, but still couldn't get that haunted look of his out of my head.
"I'm Percy Weasley, by the way," the boy said.
"And I'm Emily -" I started.
"Oh, I know who you are," Percy said, almost laughing. "Everyone here knows who you two are."
Him saying that made me feel very uncomfortable. It was obviously no mystery that our presence here made an impression on people, but someone saying it out loud made me almost embarrassed. Everyone in this room knew who Harry and I were, but we had only just figured out a month ago. We were famous for something we couldn't even remember, and everyone had known this for as long as we had been alive without us knowing anything.
Exiting the conversation with Percy, I put my attention back on my food and began to look around the room as I ate. The ceiling above me looked almost as if it were a real sky to the point I even began to question whether or not it was real. The ghosts were floating around the room and talking to the students as if it were the most normal thing in the world. Everything was incredible.
I was finally brought back to reality when my eyes went back over to the High Table and a pain suddenly shot right through my arm and into my head. Oddly enough, Harry seemed to have gotten a similar pain as we both grabbed our foreheads at the same time in an attempt to stop the pain.
"Ow!" we both said at once.
Ron, who sat across from us, raised an eyebrow as he chewed and swallowed another piece of chicken.
"What was that about?" Ron asked looking at both of us.
"I'm not sure," Harry spoke for both of us. "I was just looking up at Professor Snape and my scar started burning."
"Hmm…" Ron said. "That's strange."
I didn't get the same feeling as my brother that it had any relation to this professor, but something was definitely strange. The pain ended up going away as the dinner went on without another incident. A good amount of time passed and it seemed that everyone was pretty much done eating for the feast when Professor Dumbledore stood up from his seat once more.
"Thank you all for attending the feast," Dumbledore said. "I hope that you all have had your fill, but I believe that it is time that we all move toward the dormitories to sleep off all of this food. Goodnight to all, and I wish you all a wonderful year."
He waved his wand in his hand and all of the mess vanished before our eyes, which one the applause of some of the newer students, much to Dumbledore's amusement. Once the crowd began to disperse, Percy Weasley stood up and began to call attention to the Gryffindor House.
"First years, follow me!" he called. "I'm one of the Gryffindor prefects, and I will be leading you all to Gryffindor Tower...FOLLOW ME!"
All of the first years began to gather up behind him, and, oddly enough, the Weasley twins also fell in amongst us.
"I'm a prefect!" one of the twins mimicked as he walked behind Percy.
"I'm a complete baboon!" the other twin mocked.
Most of the first year students, including me, laughed at the impersonation that the twins were putting on behind their brother without his notice. As they started to walk behind him and mimic his posture and gait to perfection, Percy suddenly turned around with a stern look on his face.
"What are you two doing?" Percy asked.
"Just accompanying these first years to their dorms," one of the twins said.
"We're just trying to be friendly," the other said.
Percy rolled his eyes and motioned for everyone to continue following him despite his obvious desire for his younger brothers to leave him alone. Since they were caught, they fell back into the crowd of first years and pretended to be fascinated by the school they had already attended for a year as we made our way through the halls. Before I knew it, they suddenly dropped back and they both stood on either side of Harry and me in an attempt to sandwich us both in.
"Hello," one of them said with a giant smile on his face.
"I don't believe we've had the chance to talk," the other said.
"We haven't," Harry said.
"I'm Fred," one said.
"I'm George," the other said.
"I'm-" Harry started.
"Harry," George said.
"And you're Emily," Fred said.
"Trust me, we know," George said. "Everyone's been talking about you."
"Great," I muttered. "Already the school freaks."
"Woah," George said, almost looking offended. "Don't try to take our titles from us on your first day."
"Freak is not a title given," Fred said as he held onto Harry's shoulder for dramatic effect. "It's earned."
"Fred and George," Percy called from ahead of us. "Are you bothering the first years?"
"Of course not!" Fred called up.
"They love us!" George called up to his brother and then turned to us saying, "Don't you?"
Harry and I both laughed and continued to walk ahead. Fred and George remained by our sides with Ron following behind us as we moved toward the Gryffindor Tower with the rest of the first years. It wasn't long before we found ourselves in front of a large, moving portrait of a large woman in an elegant pink dress.
"And here we are!" Percy announced. "The portrait of The Fat Lady serves as the entrance to the Gryffindor Tower. In order to get past her, you must remember the password that you are given. If you forget this, you will be stuck out here - so do your best to remember it. If the password changes, as it always does, you will be notified. For right now, the password is Caput Draconis."
"Welcome to Hogwarts, children," the Fat Lady said with a welcoming smile.
As she spoke, the portrait that she was on began to swing open like a door to reveal the Gryffindor common room. The circular room was filled with various comfortable looking chairs, desks, and bookshelves that we were all free to use whenever we wished. Percy quickly discussed the importance of the common room for Gryffindor House because of the camaraderie it brings between its members before showing us toward the girls and boys separate dormitories where we would sleep.
When I walked into the girl's dormitory, I discovered that I would be sharing a room with my fellow first year Gryffindor girls because each year was separated into its own room. In this room, I got to meet Lavender Brown, Parvati Patil, and Hermione Granger. While I was there, I discovered that Parvati Patil was also a twin, but she was separate from her sister during the Sorting Ceremony when Padma, her identical twin sister, was placed into Ravenclaw, much to her dismay. As upset as I was to hear that she was separated from her sister, it made me realize how fortunate I was to be placed into the same house as Harry.
Thanks for reading!