"First years! First years over 'ere!" came a booming voice somewhere beyond them. Rose looked up and saw a huge, towering figure. Albus and Rose rushed up to it.
"Hagrid!" said Albus excitedly. Hagrid looked at Rose and Albus and beamed at them warmly.
"A'right, Albus, Rose?"
"We're great!" chorused the two.
"Great! Well, we'll be off in boats, then." He turned away from them, his long, worn out coat swishing behind him. Albus and Rose followed. Rose remembered Scorpious and turned around, trying to catch sight of him amid the eager first years. Not able to see where he was, she turned back to follow Albus towards the boats.
"Grace, Abott," called out the stern looking women who went by the name of Professor Mcgonagall. She was reading names off a very large scroll of parchment. A girl with a round face and pretty blonde hair sat on the stool. The hat barely touched the hair before the hat cried "HUFFLEPUFF!" The girl smiled widely and jumped off the stool to join the applauding table.
"I hope it goes like that for me," whispered Albus to Rose as they watched a snooty looking boy become a Slytherin. "I want it to be quick, so then nobody looks at me for long."
"Everyone is going to be looking at you for long," Rose whipered back. "You're the son of Harry Potter." Albus grinned.
"And you're the daughter of Hermione Granger and Ronald Weasley."
"Yeah, but they're not as famous as your dad," argued Rose. Albus grimaced and watched as a girl called Kindra Patil became a Gryffindor. Finally...
"Potter, Albus!"
"Good luck!" hissed Rose. Whispers broke out in the hall. He sent her a weak smile and walked up onto the stage. The hat fell onto his head, obscuring his eyes'. It was barely on for five seconds when it shrieked "GYFFINDOR!" Rose clapped hard and she could see James and his friends whooping on the Gryffindor table. Smiling, she turned her head back onto the sorting. A few more people were sorted and then...
"Malfoy, Scorpious!" Rose saw Malfoy swagger and casually sit onto the stool. The same thing happened to him. The hat had barely touched his head before the hat cried "GRYFFINDOR!" There was a hush of astonishment from the Gryffindor table for a few seconds, then as he got off the stool, they erupted into applause. As he passed Rose, he winked at her and she watched as he went to sit next to a smiling Albus.
Rose was typically one of the last students to be sorted. She could tell this because Professor Mcgonagall had reached the near end of her parchment. As she passed onto the stool, for some reason, Professor Mcgongall smiled at her. She smiled back and that was the last thing she saw when the hat fell onto her head. Rose had been expecting the voice talking into her ear. James had explained everything in the summer holidays- from the sorting hat to trolls in the dungeons.
"Aaah- another Weasley! I see you have inherited your mother's talent- she was the brightest witch of her age I have so far met- hmmm, you certainly do have chivalry- and plenty of courage. Very difficult..."
Rose gripped the sides of her stool and thought with all her mind 'Please, not Slytherin, not Slytherin. And not Hufflepuff either, god forbid..." She was surprised to hear the hat laugh in her ear.
"Yes, witty too, you would do good in Ravenclaw, however..." Rose shut her eyes' and wished with all her might she could be placed in the same house as Albus...
"Yes, I know exactly where to put you!" said the hat excitedly. "GRYFFINDOR!" Rose giggled with happiness and Professor Mcgonagall flashed her another smile as she bounded off towards the screaming Gryffindors. Rose had the feeling if she had been sorted into Ravenclaw, the Professor would have smiled even wider.
"Well done, Rose!" shouted James down the table. She turned to a relievd looking Albus.
"You got into Gryffindor!" He looked happy. She turned to Scorpious.
"You got in too!" He shrugged.
"Hey, why did the hat take so long sorting you?" asked Albus curiously. Rose rolled her eyes'.
"Honestly, it was so stupid. He was going on and on about me, saying I could 'prove' myself in Ravenclaw."
"Yeah, you would do good in there, though," said Albus, thinking for a moment.
Lily looked down at the table and gaped. Dishes and dishes of food seemed to have been conjured out of nowhere.
"How- how- did they-"
"Must be some sort of enchantment," said Albus picking a chicken leg from a silver platter. There was chatter as the students began eating.
"Rose?" I heard someone ask. I turned around to see Scorpious holding out some lasgane. I took it from him and grinned.
"Thanks."
"No problem," he said. "Oh, and by the way...welcome to Gryffindor."
Dear mum and dad,
How are you doing? I've got a couple of words to say to you...I love Hogwarts! Guess what- I got sorted into Gryffindor! The hat was pretty reluctant to let me into the house, though. Al got into Gryffindor too! Oh, and you know the Scorpious Malfoy you pointed out to at the train station? He got in too! Wierd, right? I mean, his dad was in Slytherin. He hates his dad. Me and Al talked to him. We shared a compartment. We're sort of friends now, but it's okay, he's nice. Sort of. I'm so excited! I can't wait to start lessons, especially potions! It would be so fun to brew different ingredients together. Oh, and Charms, learning how to levitate and stuff!
Anyway, I have to go- got to get my sleep for tomorrow! Send my love to grandad and grandma Weasley and tell them the good news!
XXX Rose