The gentle warmth of the Great Hall engulfed the students, warming their ice cold bodies. The door next to the teachers' table flew open and Professor McGonagall led out a line of tiny first years.
"Aww look how small they are!" Meg said to Viv, happily. Meg continued to peer up at them but all of a sudden her vision was obscured by a wave of other students standing and straining their necks.
"What the . . .?" Viv questioned, also standing. Meg joined her, standing on top of her chair and still barely being able to see over the heads of the crowd.
"Harry Potter!" a whisper swept the crowd.
"That's him!"
"Can you see his scar?"
"Look, Meg, look!" Viv exclaimed, jabbing the before mentioned in the arm
"I can't see!"
"It's Harry Potter!" she provided.
"Really? The Harry Potter?" Despite her feeling about the boy wizard extraordinaire, Meg too was swept up in the excitement of the moment.
"Yeah! Ooh look, his scar, his scar!" Viv squealed. Cursing her short stature, Meg stood on her toes attempting to see.
"Alright everyone, calm down," boomed a deep voice. Immediately, almost in a wave, the crowd seated themselves, but the whispers continued.
"Quiet down," the voice which Meg had now identified as Dumbledore's boomed again, "Quiet!" Finally the whispers ceased and Professor McGonagall placed the Sorting Hat on its faithful stool in front of the teachers' table. The sorting hat sang its song (crudely, according to most of the students) and the sorting began.
Meg's stomach made its presence known with a loud growl and she hoped there was a small incoming class this year. Unfortunately, it was as big as ever. While Professor McGonagall was calling out names, Meg was staring at the Weasley twins, trying to guess which one had walked into her compartment.
"Malfoy, Draco." Her ears sharpened instantly. Malfoy? As in the son of Lucious Malfoy? As in the Malfoys? Again, a curious whisper swept the crowd, but it was interrupted by the abrupt shout of "Slytherin!" from the Sorting Hat.
"Well who didn't see that one coming?" chuckled Viv, fully awake from her train ride nap. More names were called, and the crowd remained half asleep until "Potter, Harry". Everyone craned their necks once again, but this time Meg could see. A small, scrawny boy with messy black hair nervously stumbled up to the Sorting Hat. That's the famous Harry Potter? He singlehandedly defeated Voldemort?
A long, deafening silence, gripped the room as the hat sat motionless upon the little boy's head. Seconds turned into a solid minute before the Sorting Hat bellowed, with an air of uncertainty, "Gryffindor!"
Within half a second, everyone around Meg including Viv had risen to their feet to welcome the great Harry Potter to the their table. Meg reluctantly joined them.
"Yeah this'll certainly stop the rivalry between Gryffindor and Slytherin," she muttered to herself. Still, she couldn't help but be proud to have 'The Boy Who Lived' in her very own house. She clapped politely, watching him make his way nervously towards the upperclassmen. When the students had settled themselves, Professor McGonagall finished calling the rest of the names and finally the feast began.
Dumbledore eventually began his usual post-feast speech, and Meg was about to slip into her usual post-feast slumber when a new announcement was tacked on at the end. It was something about the third floor corridor being closed, or out of bounds, or something. She wondered why for a moment but your thoughts quickly returned to the soft beds waiting above her. Meg's head was just about to fall into her freshly cleaned plate when Viv yanked the other girl up and dragged her all the way to their dorm.