Albus jumped up as soon as their boat hit the side of the lake. He scrambled out and looked around, his eyes sparkling. Scorpius let Rose out, before hopping out of the boat himself. The first years crowded around Hagrid once more, whispering excitedly. He turned, and in a group the first years followed, almost running to keep up with Hagrid's steady pace.
They clambered up a series of stone steps, splitting up into threes due to how marrow the steps became. Hagrid could barely fit, and had to turn sideways whenever the steps turned suddenly. Then, Hagrid led Albus and the rest of the first years into a dimly lit courtyard, and beckoned them around him in front of a large oak door.
Albus never imagined Hogwarts to be so large. He could barely see the tops of the turrets when his head was tilted as far back as it would go. His Dad wasn't lying when it came to the enormity of Hogwarts. It looked warm, like a home. All of the windows were lit, making the castle all the more enchanting. He was really here, he thought.
Hagrid looked around at them all, his eyes twinkling with happiness. He loved seeing the new students enter the school, and often said it was the reason he stuck around. Albus couldn't blame him, seeing the awestruck faces of the first years once a year would be brilliant. Hagrid turned and knocked on the large oak door, which was about three times taller than Hagrid himself. We waited, the bitter air whipping our hair around.
Slowly, the door opened, creaking slightly as it did so. A small woman whipped her head around the door, a tense look of impending doom on her face. She had a warm look in her eyes though.
"The firs' years ma'am." Hagrid said looking back at us and smiling.
"Thank you, professor Hagrid. You should make your way to the feast, we're running late."
Without another word, Hagrid entered through the doors and was enveloped by the lights inside. The woman's beady eyes inspected them all. She sniffed slightly, then opened the doors and beckoned them in.
Slbus heard a few gasps as people entered the entrance hall. The ceiling seemed as big as Hogwarts itself, with tapestries reaching into the rafters. To one side, a huge door, tightly shut, with chattering coming from inside it. That must be the great hall, Albus thought. The woman leaded them into a small room to the side of the door, where all of the first years crammed in, a lot closer to each other than they had imagined. The woman turned to look at them all.
"Welcome to Hogwarts." She said, looking around the room. Albus noticed a spider web in the corner of the ceiling. "I am Professor Fera. For the next few years, Hogwarts will be the place you spend most of your time. You will make friends here, and live her for most of your adolescence.
'As well as making friends, you will also be put into a house. There are four houses, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. How you behave in Hogwarts will affect your entire house. Your house will be your family at Hogwarts. Your dormitory, common room and house points will be shared with your house. Also remember this, the house with the most points at the end of the year wins the house cup, which is a great honour in Hogwarts traditions.
'Please wait here, I will return shortly."
When she left, the first years buzzed quietly with excitement, whispering rapidly about houses and friends.
"I would hate to be in hufflepuff"
"But imagine being in Slytherin!"
"I have to be in Ravenclaw..."
Albus didn't know what to think. Everyone had made their minds up about their houses, and they will almost certainly get them, but he still didn't know. Would it really be so bad in Slytherin? Would it really be so bad to wear the green ties? Before he could ponder for any longer, Professor Fera slipped into the room once again.
"Follow me." Her eyes twinkled and she couldn't suppress her smile even though she tried. They filed out behind her, Albus standing between Rose and Scorpius, and made their way to the large doors of the Great Hall. Albus could barely walk, his knees almost giving out on him. The doors flung open on their own accord and Albus was face by row upon row of students staring at them all as the shuffled forward to the front.
Albus noted that the Gryffindors and Slytherins were sitting on the far sides of the hall and that the ceiling - which was an exact replica of the night sky - was calm, the stars shining down into the hall. Albus had never been so captivated. He quickly looked around once more before concentrating his eyes on the sorting hat. It had been restored after the Dark Times of the war, and had a series of large scar-like creases all over it.
Suddenly the sorting hat moved, the largest creases moving like yes, filtering over the new students. Albus heard it sigh deeply then it began to sing:
Scars and bruises
Made by peoples short fuses
Years have passed
And still I last
Sorting each to thee:
Wise Gryffindors
Brave at heart
Daring, true and loyal too
Do you live up to that?
Maybe even Hufflepuff
Kind and just and fair
Patience and virtue
Is where they pursue
Do you live up to that?
Good Ravenclaws
Ambitious and Kind
A wit that could kill
Even the loneliest of chaps
Do you live up to that?
Finally, our Slytherins
Never known to lie
Those cunning folk
Are full of luck, brains and truth
Do you live up to that?
So which will it be?
Well, only I know that
For I am the Hogwarts Sorting Hat!
With that, it relaxed and the crowd of students erupted into applause and yells. Albus smiled and clapped too, already knowing he would enjoy this place. Rose nudged him and pointed over to the far side. James was there, smiling broadly with Teddy. Albus smiled and then they turned back to the Sorting Hat.
"When I call your name, you must come forward and sit on the stool. I will place the hat on your head, and you will be sorted." Professor Fera explained. Albus gulped. Fearing something so simple seemed cowardly, but he feared it anyway. Professor Fera unrolled a thick piece of parchment, and cleared her throat.
"Alred, Peter!"
A small boy with red cheeks carefully made his way onto the platform and sat on the stool. His legs dangled off the stool, not reaching the floor. Professor Fera dropped the hat onto his head and stepped back. In little more than ten seconds, the hat yelled out.
"RAVENCLAW!"
One of the tables erupted as Peter hopped off the stool and joined them, one of the students sat there thumped him on the back. This was really happening, the first person had been sorted and Albus would be sorted soon too.
"Balouguon, Adey"
"SLYTHERIN!" The hat yelled instantly.
"Barde, Jamey"
"RAVENCLAW"
And that is what continued for the next fifteen minutes. For some people, like Couke, Laviya, it took a few seconds, but for others, such as Ederet, Harold it took over two minutes.
Then Scorpius was called up. Albus smiled at him reassuringly as he climbed onto the stool. The hat was dropped over his head, covering his eyes. Albus wondered why they hadn't made the hat smaller; it was for first years after all. He stood watching, wondering what was going through Scorpius' mind. It took the sorting hat a full two minutes to come up with its answer.
It sighed loudly.
"SLYTHERIN!" It yelled, and the table to the far side erupted. Scorpius hurried over, as someone from the Slytherin table yelled "Just your place, Malfoy!" Albus felt a pang of guilt for Scorpius, that his family had a bad reputation, but he didn't have time to dweel on it, because at that moment, his name was called.