Chapter 2 - The Sorting
Padma and I looked out the window as the Hogwarts Express pulled into a small train station. Complying with the conductors instructions, we left our trunks on the train and followed a few other 11 year-old's toward one end of the train station. There a very large man was calling all the first years to him. Once about 40 people had gathered around, we started walking on a slightly less direct path toward, what I assumed was, Hogwarts. After only a quarter mile, we had made it to the edge of a large lake. On the shoreline 11 boats waited.
"No more'n four to a boat." the giant man, or Hagrid, said.
Padma and I stepped into a boat that already had her sister and another girl in it. The unfamiliar girl had curly hair and heavily applied make-up. She introduced herself as Lavender Brown when we sat down. Both of the Patil twins gave slight jerks when the boats started moving by themselves and I could see expressions of amazement on their faces. I reached down to the edge of the boat and let my fingers slide through the water. While slightly murky, I thought I saw something move in the water and instantly pulled my hand from the water. I had no plan to have my hand bitten off before term even started. Lavender who had also seen the face like image was with me, but Padma and Pavarti gave quiet laughs at my reaction. When the boats turned a corner, I looked up and gasped. I had grilled the older children at the orphanage about what Hogwarts looked like, but nothing could compare to the real thing.
"Bloody hell." a boy from the adjacent boat muttered, and I had to agree with him. The castle was huge and stretched from the tallest towers to the edge of the lake and all the way around. I could see some windows with a yellowish tint and knew some were occupied. What drew most of my attention was the tall towers that seemed to reach for the sky. One of them, the second tallest, had an open wall that I could just make out. The other two had smaller towers that were built off of the main tower and I assumed they were the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw towers. I had read the Hogwarts history book so many times, especially the parts about the four houses.
I was brought back to the present by people getting out of the boats. We had reached the shore and Hagrid was directing us on how to safely leave the boats without falling in. Once we had all exited the boats they slowly sank underneath the surface of the lake. Hagrid lead us into one of the wider archways before going through the castle. Once we had reached an entrance way, Hagrid passed us off to a stern looking professor.
"The firs' years, Professor McGonagall," Hagrid said.
"Yes, thank you, Hagrid," she said. "I am Professor McGonagall, and welcome to Hogwarts. 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 hear, 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."
"The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house point, while any rule-breaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the house cup, a great honor. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours."
"The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting. I will return when we are ready for you." Professor McGonagall finished. "Please wait quietly."
The professor left through the huge double doors and Padma turned to me.
"What do we have to do for the Sorting?" she asked.
"Not much, there is this really old hat that you try on that will decide." I replied, though I thought I saw a glimmer of confusion in her eyes.
Just then a commotion at the front of the crowd called our attention forward. There was apparently an argument between the black haired young boy and the Malfoy heir. The fight didn't get to escalate any more as Professor McGonagall had returned.
"We are ready for you now," she said with a look of warning to the two boys. "Please follow me."
We formed a line and followed Professor McGonagall to the front of the hall. I looked around at the four tables. Closest to us was the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff house, as I could she the lining of a few robes. Then Gryffindor was by Hufflepuff and Slytherin by Ravenclaw. I turned my attention to the front. There was a small stool with the Sorting Hat on it. Professor McGonagall stood beside, even when it burst into song. Padma had grabbed my arm when the hat started to sing. Once it was finished the professor unrolled a piece of parchment.
"When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted." Professor McGonagall explained. "Abbot, Hannah!"
Hannah was a blond girl that was sorted into "HUFFLEPUFF!" The table I had guesses to be Hufflepuff burst into cheers as she left the stool.
"Black, Vega"
I nervously pushed my way through the crowd. I could feel the stares and knew that everyone in the Hall was looking at me. Calmly I walked up the stairs to the stool. The last thing I saw before the hat fell over my eyes, was an-almost warning-look from Professor McGonagall.
"Hmmm, another Black, I must say its been awhile since I have sorted one of your family. You are unlike the rest of the Blacks, though different from your father as well. Logical, courageous, I also see ambition. Kindness, though only those you deam worthy, so Hufflepuff is out. Not Gryffindor either. You don't throw yourself into danger, you analyze it. So, Ravenclaw or Slytherin. Any preference." the Sorting Hat said into my head.
"No, you know where I belong, you have unlimited access to my mind."
"Ahh, very nice...well better be RAVENCLAW!" the last word was shouted to the entire hall. The hat was taken off my head and I made my way to the cheering table, although not as loud as the other had been, to sit with my housemates. The rest of the feast felt like it passed in a blur. I briefly remembered the Harry Potter being sorted into Gryffindor and Padma being separated from her sister, with her coming to Ravenclaw and Pavarti going to Gryffindor. After the sorting I paid as much attention as I could to Dumbledore, both before and after the food had appear. Dinner was the best I had ever had and for the first time I wasn't nervous to be at Hogwarts, I was excited.
The prefect, Eric, lead the first year Ravenclaws out of the great hall and walked with the first year Slytherins for a short time. Then we turned up to a small staircase that seemed to almost go up forever. By the time we had reached the top everyone was out of breath and all I wanted to do was to climb into bed. Finally the prefect lead us to a bronze door with a eagle knocker on it.
"Each house had a special way to enter their common room." Eric said. "Both Gryffindor and Slytherin have passwords and Hufflepuff had a knock, while us Ravenclaws must answer a riddle. Simply approach the knocker and it will ask you a question. Get it right and you can enter, get it wrong and you have to wait until someone else comes along that knows the answer. As tradition, you all with get to have a go at the riddle tonight."
He then stepped in front of the eagle. The knocker seemed to come to life.
"What is broken every time it is spoken?" the knocker said in a women's voice.
Eric motioned for us to take a try at it and so everyone turned to each other to discuss it. Padma and I looked to each other.
"So it has to be a word that represents something" she said.
"Right, but its not a tangible object because other wise it wouldn't break when you spoke it." I added on.
"And it has to be common enough that it happens every so that it can be broken when ever it is said."
We both thought for a minute, until it hit me. I hesitantly took a step forward and Eric just ushered me forward. I replaced him before the eagle and spoke.
"The answer is silence." I said in a clear if not really loud voice.
"Excellently said." the knocker replied before the door swung open.
I turned to the prefect, but instead he just waved a hand as if to say I should enter first.
"It is an unspoken rule that whoever answers the riddle enters first." he said.
I nodded and entered the common room. As soon I was in enough that everyone else could enter, I stopped and turned in a slow circle. The common room was a large circle. There were rounded tall windows around the opposite walls with only a section of actual stone between each. Directly across from the door was a statue of a young women in robes with a small crown of her head. On either side of her was a door that I assumed lead to the dormitories. There were three windows on both sides of the statue and each had a tall cafe table with four of the high-top chairs. On the right side there was a large fireplace with a couch and a few armchairs surrounding it. On the other side there was another two couches and two armchairs with a coffee table in between much like the other side. Then there were the books. Every inch of wall had a bookshelf on it and all the bookshelves were full to the brim with books. Between the windows and around the fireplace, everywhere. Not only that but everything was midnight blue, bronze, or silver. Eric closed the door and addressed us again.
"The two doors by the statue, which is our house founder Rowena Ravenclaw, lead up to the dormitories. Girls on the left, boy on the right. You will be in the first door you come across." Eric explained. "The common room will be where you can hang out with your friends, do you homework or just relax for some reading. Over there" he pointed to the only spot on the wall that wasn't covered in books "is the announcement board. There you will see things for clubs, lessons, and even you can put stuff up if you need to. Your luggage should already be in your dormitories. I suggest going to bed somewhat early as classes will be starting tomorrow." With that Eric left to join a group of fifth years that a taken a couch.
Padma and I both went up to the dormitories along with the only other first year girl in Ravenclaw, Lisa Turpin. The dorm was much like the common room, but smaller and with different contents. It had three four poster beds that had midnight blue curtains. My luggage was at the base of the middle bed with Padma to my right and Lisa to my left. Across from my bed was a door that lead into the bathroom. There was a large blue and bronze rug in the middle of the floor. On the same wall as the bathroom were three dressers.
All three of us introduced ourselves. Then we unpacked our trunks. After finally organizing everything we climbed into bed. The bed was amazing, with a soft mattress and fluffy pillow and silky sheets, I quickly fell asleep in my new home.
Author's Note -
Hey fanfic world,
Thank you skyjadeprincesss and TayaArne for favoriting/following my fan fiction. I'm glad you guys like it. I decided to use the same speech for McGonagall because I felt it explained everything very well. Next chapter will be the first few days of classes. Hope you guys enjoy!
See you next time...