1. The Song
The foursome chattered away as the time went by, talking about everything between earth and sky, but mostly Quidditch. Rose launched herself into talking about all kinds of stuff and cool players, and mentioned that her aunt had played for the Holyhead Harpies, and that her uncle was the youngest seeker on a Hogwarts team ever, and that her mother had dated a world famous seeker before getting together with her dad, and that her family was friends with the world famous Keeper and newly appointed captain of the English international team Oliver Wood and that her uncle, the aforementioned seeker, had been flying circles around a Hungarian Horntail, at that point Selene asked what it was which resulted in a big lecture on dragons held by Albus, before Rose launched herself back into Quidditch-speak, this time talking about rules and points, and her own skills on a broomstick. Scorpius counted said facts about Quidditch to reappear at least two times after the first mentioning of them, and at the most twelve times.
Scorpius noted the sky getting darker and darker at the same rate he became hungrier and right before his stomach started growling, an old lady with a trolley came by and offered sweets. Rose immediately hopped up and bought tons of Chocolate Frogs and Bertie Botts for her and everyone else. While Albus bought Cauldron cakes and Pumpkin Juice, Scorpius ended up buying liquorice staffs and quills, as well as pumpkin pies and the two places left were suddenly overflowing with sweets. Al introduced Selene to the World of the Chocolate Frogs, as well as teaching her the right way of tasting Bertie Botts Beans. And wizarding money.
Rose however, was carefully eying her beans and sorted them out in different piles.
"What are you doing?" Scorpius asked her but she didn't answer.
"She's got a theory about them being colour-coded." Albus said without a glance at Scorpius and kept teaching Selene.
Scorpius watched with amusement how the entire pack of Bertie Botts Beans that Rose had in her knee emptied and how every single bean was sorted, by then both Albus and Selene were sitting with their own sweets and watched her.
"Done." Rose said proudly.
"Okay, but what is what?" Albus said.
"Say a flavour you want."
"Vanilla." Scorpius looked at the piles of beans. There were three different white piles, but Rose however, stretched out her hand and picked up one which she gave to Albus to taste. He hesitantly took it and eyed it before he put it in his mouth. His eyes went wide and he chewed on the bean a while until he finally spoke.
"You were right. Selene, you try."
"Okay, ehm… Toffee."
"Brave choice, if Rose doesn't give you the right one, you might end up with puke, ear wax, or honey. With honey of course being the good alternative." Al smiled at her. Rose however, ignored him and grabbed a bean from one of the yellowy brown piles which she gave to Selene. The other girl carefully tasted it like she'd been taught, and almost immediately chunked the whole been down.
"Right again."
"Okay, now you say one Scorpius." Rose demanded.
Scorpius who had been musing about Rose's ability to discern one bean from the other was brought to reality with her voice. "Ehm.. Lime." Rose gave him a look when he said it.
"Lime? Really?"
"Well uh… There's many green piles." And he was right. As far as he had experienced, the green beans were either booger, grass, lime, green apple, pear, leaves, lettuce or rotten garbage. And indeed was there eight green piles, ranging from yellowy to sickly to light to a rich green. Praying desperately he wouldn't get rotten garbage, Scorpius took the bean from Rose and tasted. It was sour. It was lime.
"You're incredible." He stated when he'd swallowed the bean.
"Thanks." She answered him nonchalantly, but her hair magically fell down and hid her face, giving him the impression that she wasn't as indifferent to the compliment as she sounded.
"How do you know which one it is?" Scorpius asked when Al and Selene continued with the chocolate.
"Easy-peasy." Rose shrugged. "It's all about the colour and small differences. For example, Al picked vanilla which is a creamier white bean but with tiny black spots, like vanilla-flavoured ice-cream. Selene picked toffee, which is one of the harder beans to see the difference on. It's yellowy brown but with a hint of brass-colour in it. And you asked for lime, and that ones pretty easy; you just have to pick up a darker green and look at the edges. If it's yellowish there it's lime, if not, it's leaves." She explained.
"So, in other words, they resemble whatever it is they taste like?" He thought for a moment. "So… does strawberry have spots like the seeds on a strawberry?"
"Exactly." She answered and grabbed a red, a brown and a black bean and ate them at the same time.
"What was that?"
"Strawberry, chocolate and liquorice."
"Does it really taste good?" Scorpius was a bit sceptical.
"Yes. At least I think so."
"So… What else do you think tastes good?" He asked and she looked at him before she picked up four different beans and held them out for him. He hesitantly took them and after yet another look from her ate all of them at the same time.
"Tastes like a sandwich." he commented.
"Of course it does, bread, butter, ham and lettuce. What else would it taste like?" she replied and Scorpius shrugged.
"I don't know. I guess I wasn't expecting a sandwich made out of beans."
Rose laughed before she got a thoughtful look on her face. "You know… They really should start making these with different combinations."
"That's a great idea! Why don't you write them?"
"What would I write? 'Hello, I'm Rose Weasley, I've decoded your beans and I'm never wrong when I pick one to eat. I think you should make combinations of your beans to create new flavours like sandwich or something gross like puke, pepper, booger, ear wax and blood.' Good enough?"
"Well… You could write that." At that came a snort from Rose who stood up and opened her trunk.
"It's getting late, you should get into your robes now. If you guys would wait outside while Selene changes we'll wait outside when you change." She said abruptly and started shoving Scorpius and Al outside. When they were waiting Scorpius turned to Al.
"What did she mean by 'if'?"
"Probably that if we didn't go out she wouldn't get out when we dress, and that she wouldn't even bother to look away." Al said nonchalantly.
"She would do that?"
"Yes." Suddenly, Scorpius wasn't sure he wanted to make friends with the girl.
Pockets filled with the rest of the candy, Rose and the others hopped off the train right when it stopped after waiting in the hall and all of them peered out in the dark to see whoever would take them to the castle.
"Firs'-years over 'ere now!" A voice called to the right of them, Rose turned to see who it was even if she already knew it by the voice.
"Hagrid!" Al called eagerly and rushed to him, followed by Rose and the others.
"Oh, hello there lil' Al, ye got Rose with ye?" Hagrid asked and then looked up (or down) to see her. "Course ye have. Hi there Rosie, exciting to be at Hogwarts? Firs'-years over here!" He called out the last and a group of kids came trotting to them. "Is that all there is? Firs'-years?" One or two more joined them. "Everyone here? Okay, let's go then! Follow me!"
As Hagrid started walking down a somewhat muddy path Rose tugged at Scorpius's sleeve to make him hurry alongside her, once they came down to a myriad of small boats, Hagrid informed them that there should be four students in each. Rose was the first one in her boat and was joined by the others quickly. So many were preoccupied with getting into the boats that none of them actually saw the big castle on the top of a high cliff on the other side of the lake. Then someone called out "There it is!" and everyone were so preoccupied with staring at it that no one made a sound.
The lake they travelled over lay still and mirrored the sky above except for a bunch of ripples somewhat to the left of the boats which Rose noticed and wondered exactly how far down the merpeople lived.
"That must be the Giant Squid! My dad fell in here when he was eleven!" Rose heard a boy exclaim when a giant tentacle rose up from the ripples and whipped in the cool air and others answered with "woah!" Rose herself was feeling a bit faint at the sight. It must be huge.
The boats drifted under an underwater-cave in the cliff, and beneath what Rose was certain was the foundation of the Hogwarts Castle until they reached an underground harbour with docks where the boats tied themselves up, and the students all stepped out of them. Hagrid went up a path in the cliff which eventually ended on a grassy patch in the shadow of the castle, kept walking and stopped in front of a great door just a few steps up.
"So, ye're all 'ere?" In unison, all of the students nodded. Hagrid knocked three times on the door, which opened just after he'd let his hand down.
The woman standing there was a remarkably thin human in darkblue, starry robes, with eyes that seemed to wander to the stars outside.
"Professor Sinistra, 'ere's your students." Hagrid said with a quick nod at her before he strolled on.
The professor looked at the students before she waved at them to come and spun around into the hallway and led them past a pair of huge doors from where eager chatter and laughs came. The professor's starry robes turned around a corner and the first years hurried after and into a room where the professor was standing, holding the door open. Closing it when everyone was in the room.
"Now, I am professor Sinistra, deputy headmistress and astronomy teacher. You are first years who will shortly be sorted into your respective houses, chosen after great consideration by our oldest member of the staff. In fact, he's been around since the school was built." At the last sentence Rose briefly wondered if "he" was a ghost. "The houses you'll be sorted into are Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin and further will be explained before your sorting. Now you wait here and I'll announce your entrance to the Headmistress. I suggest you look over yourself before entering the Great Hall." And with those words she left through another door.
Rose, who was very well-aware of her own bushy locks, drew her fingers through them in hopes of maybe straightening them out a bit, if not flattening it so it wouldn't be too… poofy. From the corner of her eye she saw Al straightening his glasses and Selene pulling at her skirt and pull-over. Scorpius didn't move a fin. Of course he already looked perfect. Rose wondered if he ever wasn't perfectly in order.
The professor came back and after letting them line up, led them out into the Great Hall.
The ceiling above was as clear as the sky outside, and really looked like the sky. Rose's mother had already informed her that it was enchanted, but seeing it made it quite overwhelming to well, see.
The students were sitting at four different tables, each of the tables had banners over them with the emblems and colours of the houses, Gryffindor and most of Rose's cousins was at the far left, though the oldest one, Victoire, and her sister Dominique were seated at Ravenclaws table. Both with perfectly straight Veela-hair. Their brother was sitting alongside James and Fred, uncle Harry's and uncle George's respective sons, as Veela-haired as them.
A stool with a hat was placed in front of the first years and since everyone else stared at it, Rose stared at it too. Suddenly, a rift in the hat opened.
You may see me as ugly
Ancient even ruddy
You may believe I'm worthless
So prove that you're not thoughtless
Do not judge me for my outside
For I can see your inside
To view me as a mere old hat
Is fair and just, I'll give you that
But cast aside your prejudice
So that I may throw the dice
Will it land on Red and Gold?
Gryffindors are always bold
Will it land upon the Lion?
Gryffindor, strong and hard as diamond
Will it land on Black and Yellow?
Hufflepuffs are loyal to their fellows
Will it land upon the Badger?
Hufflepuff, the one to trust when faced with danger
Will it land on Bronze and Blue?
Ravenclaws are wisest of the select few
Will it land upon the Raven?
Ravenclaw, where knowledge's always craven
Will it land on Green and Silver?
Slytherins won't hesitate to do what benefits them most
Will it land upon the snake?
Slytherin, cunning choices always makes
With all this said
Still don't judge
For even Slytherins are brave and wise
Gryffindors are loyal too, and always know just what to do
Hufflepuffs might me the wisest of us all, knowing values we ignore
Ravenclaws know bravery, loyalty and the way to get it all
As long as the sorting has been in place
I have been in its charge
I've seen millions of minds and all their fates
I've seen my wrongs and all my rights
As I've said do not judge on outsides
But this applies to the mind as well
For where others see smarts and cunning
I see boldness and hard-working.
The student's cheered as the hat ended its song and Rose felt herself relax. Sorting didn't seem too hard. Then the last two lines in the song hit her. She was always considered brave and witty, what if the hat saw the hardworking or the cunning? Being in Slytherin wouldn't even be an option for her as she viewed it. Then she remembered Scorpius, and looked at him. He was almost certain where he would be, just because of his family, but Rose thought to herself that maybe the Hat would make a good choice in his sorting.
The End of the second chapter. R&R, and as I said before (I just can't stop nagging...) I want advice on "Hagrid-speak".
What do you think of the theory on the Beans? I came up with it sometime, don't know when xD I kinda like it myself (well duh, I came up with it).
Also, the song was a pain the butt, especially trying to come up with decent rhymes (which I didn't) without access to Internet... -.-' And I switched places on the Raveclaw colours because I couldn't come up with something good rhyming with "bronze".
So next, is the Sorting! *DundundunDUN*...*a.k.a. Beethovens 5th...*
Will i break the foursome up? Or will they impossibly enough be sorted into the same house? I already know that lol, so it will be updated as soon as possible, I might do some writing on the next chapter though, to get the end right.
I initially intended to have the Song and Sorting in the same chapter, but that would make it too long. Yay, I figured out a name for the next chapter! Guess ;)