Chapter 2: The Sorting
After they had changed, it wasn't long before they could see the towering castle that was Hogwarts. Abby couldn't help but gasp at its beauty, the lake surrounding it gleaming as the moon shone down upon it. Trees bordered the back side where the Forbidden Forest was, just as Cree had told her. She was suddenly pressed against the glass, the rest trying to catch a glimpse of their new school also.
"Hello? Abby's getting squished here!" she said, pushing them off.
"Oh. Sorry, Abby. It's just so pretty!" Kuki squealed, closing her eyes.
"I could've sworn I saw a mermaid over there!" Wally exclaimed in awe.
Abby dusted off her sister's old robes and nodded. "Cree said that they live in the lake."
"Wait, if mermaids exist, then what else exists?" Kuki asked excitedly.
"Centaurs, unicorns, banshees, hinkypunks, hippogriffs, and a lot more. Don't worry, we'll learn all about them in our Defese Against the Dark Arts class."
"I heard that the job is jinxed! Most of them don't last too long," Wally whispered.
Abby slapped him in the back with her hat. "That's silly. Whatever mess they get into, it's only their fault and no one else's."
Wally shrugged his shoulders, grinning meekly.
"Hey, the train stopped! We're here!" Hoagie cried.
Abby realized it was true; they weren't moving anymore. "Then what are ya'll waiting for? Let's go!"
So the five of them, Abby taking the lead, walked down the hallway and got off the train.
"What about our things?" Kuki questioned, perplexed.
"They'll send it to our rooms once we've been sorted," Nigel answered, practically bouncing with anticipation. Abby couldn't help but smile at this. She could tell he was the serious type, but could still act like a little fangirl when he was really excited.
"Okay!" Kuki skipped cheerfully the rest of the way, stopping when she accidentally bounced into a huge man with a long brown beard, now turning gray with age. "Oops sorry-" she stopped when she figured out who she was dealing with. "Woah."
The man just smiled down at her. He was extremely tall, his robes patterned with mud and leaves. He called out, "Firs' years! Firs' years over 'ere!"
Abby saw Kuki blush in embarrassment and take a step back. Abby stood behind her, the rest of the first years crowding around.
When it looked like they were all there, the man straightened and shouted over the racket the other students were making, "Welcome ter 'Ogwarts! Me name's Hagrid and I'll be taking yeh to the school by boat. Now, come along!" He motioned with his hand for them to follow, and so they did.
"Why do you think he's so big?" Kuki asked beside Abby.
She shrugged in reply. "Cree says that she thinks he's half giant, but I don't know if that's true."
Just then, they came to an abrupt stop at the edge of the lake where a dozen canoes were waiting for them in a straight line, a lantern hanging from the tip of each one.
"C'mon now! Five to a boat!" Hagrid insisted, helping some of the less persistent first years onto a canoe.
"Let's all get into that one!" Hoagie suggested, pointing to one that was slightly larger than the rest, blue paint peeling.
Kuki didn't even have to be asked twice as she jumped in, making the canoe sway a little as she landed. Wally got on next, followed by Nigel, Hoagie, and finally, Abby.
"Everyone in? Good let's get goin'," Hagrid announced, and as if it was guided by magic, which it probably was, Abby reminded herself, the boats headed straight towards the castle. The stars shone brightly overhead, and Abby even saw a mermaid like Wally had seen earlier. She could hear the others whispering loudly to their friends, hoping to see another one.
They arrived at the bank in a quick, but well-spent 5 minutes. Abby noted that one of the students was behind a bush throwing up some candy that the he had gulped down on the train. "Nasty!" she thought.
Once everyone was settled once more, Hagrid lead them into the castle where he waved goodbye to join the others, and left them in the care of their Headmistress, Proffesor McGonagall.
Proffesor McGonagall was a tall and old lady with gray hair tucked neatly in a bun at the top of her head and square-shaped spectacles. Today, she was wearing brilliant maroon robes, decorated with silver stars all over. In one hand, she held a patchy and worn hat that looked as if it would crumble down and die at any moment, and in the other, she was carrying a wooden stool.
"Welcome students, to your first year at Hogwarts!" she welcomed them. "Before we begin the feast, you shall all be sorted into one of the four houses, where you will be remaining for all of your years at this school."
Students whispered amongst themselves, and Abby guessed that they were having conversations similar to the one they had on the train.
They all followed their Headmistress down a grand marble staircase and into a great hall. The students all opened their eyes in awe. The ceiling was enchanted to look like the sky outside, starry and cloudless. At the other end of the hall, the proffesors were lined up in luxurious seats, the biggest one was empty, but Abby guessed it was only because Proffesor McGonagall was doing the ceremony.
Four long tables were lined up, each of the house emblems hanging gracefully from the wall over their respecting houses.
The school burst into applause as they saw the first years arrive.
"Thank you, thank you," Proffesor McGonagall calmed the crowd. "We will begin tonight's celebration with, of course, our traditional Sorting Ceremony. But first, our hat has come up with a new song."
She put he stool down and then gently placed the hat on it. As soon as the whole room had its attention, it broke into a song about the four houses. The others seemed to be surprised by this, but Abby didn't pay any attention. She was too worried about which house she would end up in.
Before she knew it, the song was over and Proffesor McGonagall said, "When I call out your name, please step forward. First up is Hogarth Pennywhistle Gilligan Jr."
Hoagie sighed and Abby couldn't help but snigger. No wonder he called himself Hoagie. He had one heck of a name.
"Wish me good luck," he whispered in her ear before he stepped forward and nervously sat on the stool. Proffesor McGonagall placed the hat on him, and after a few seconds, it called out, "Ravenclaw!"
Hoagie sighed in relief and handed the hat back to Proffesor McGonagall. He waved at his friends and took a seat at he Ravenclaw table where a handsome boy patted him on the back as a welcome.
Patton Drilovsky was called up next and ended up in Hufflepuff, much to his dismay apparently. Francine Fulbright took longer than the others, but ended up in Gryffindor, although for some reason, the people at the Gryffindor table didn't look too happy about it.
"Sanban, Kuki," Proffesor McGonagall continued.
Kuki shakingly walked up to the stool and took the hat. It only had to touch her forehad before it called out, "Hufflepuff!" and she was skipping off to the Hufflepuff table, slightly dissppointed. Abby guesses it was because of what Wally had told her. She gave her the thumbs up to cheer her up, and then a third-year with choppy brown hair greeted her with a smile.
Soon, after Gabe Chesterfield was put into Ravenclaw, it was Wally's turn. He jumped onto the stool, placed the hat over his head, which was way too big for him, and started whispering, "Please not Hufflepuff, please not Hufflepuff!"
"Gryffindor!"
Wally shouted, "Yes!" Then sat down at the Gryffindor table, seemingly proud of himself.
The next five kids all got put into Slytherin, and then, Abby's moment came.
"Lincoln, Abigail!" the Headmistress announced.
Abby took a deep breath, then cautiously approached the stool and sat. From the corner of her eye, she could see Cree smirking, as if she was daring her to make a fool of herself. Abby shot a glare at her sister before she took the hat and put it on.
It covered her eyes, and was a bit startled when the hat began speaking to her. "Hmmm, not a quite a Hufflepuff. Gryffindor might be good though. Slytherin would take you far also, if you really want it."
When she heard this she tried what Hoagie had said, she talked back to the hat.
"Please no! I'll never fit in if I'm in Slytherin. I'll be hated throughout the school! You don't have to put me in Gryffindor! Ravenclaw is enough," she begged in her head.
"Hmmm," it seemed to consider. "You do have the commn sense, and you are eager to learn. Very well, so be it. Ravenclaw!"
Abby could've cried because of the relief she felt. She took off the hat, and walked down to the Ravenclaw table, sitting down next to Hoagie, where he gave her a high-five.
More and more students were sorted until it was Nigel's turn, where he turned out to be a Gryffindor, like he wanted.
After the sorting was over, Proffesor McGonagall went back to her seat and started announcing a few things.
"This year, the Quidditch season will be beggining early. Try-outs will be held in two weeks. Like always, students are reminded that the forest is strictly forbidden, and that the houses will be competing against each other for the House Cup. The house with the most points wins, so I'd advise all of you to behave yourselves. Also, please welcome our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Proffesor Pin!"
As she said this, an elegant and tall lady with wavy red hair stood up. She was wearing a sparkling and expensive-looking necklace with a bright green ember on it, and shining robes of red. Her pale blue eyes flickered here and there as if she was choosing her favorite students before she even met them. She waved pleaseantly at them, even though they barely applauded.
Abby supposed that they still thought that she'd be gone by next year.
"That will be all for now. Let the feast begin!" McGonagall ordered.
The empty plates and glasses instantly filled up with all different types of food: treacle tart, chocolate pudding, cakes, pies, buttered corn, and pretty much anything else.
Abby took her fair share and ate it in a civilized manner. Hoagie was just making a mess all over the place, and she could see that Wally was doing the same, splattering his food all over Nigel. Kuki seemed to be doing fine; she was having a conversation with another Hufflepuff newbie with dark skin, like herself.
The feast went on for another hour, until Proffesor McGonagall dismissed everyone to their common rooms. Abby waved one last goodbye to Kuki before following the Ravenclaw prefect, a serious-looking girl with short black hair and bony hands named Lisa.
"This year is going to be epic!" Hoagie commented as Lisa explained how to get into the common room.
"I sure hope so."
* * *
Once Kuki arrived at her common room, she slumped down on a chair. She was disappointed that even though she had made four, FOUR, new friends, none of them had ended up with her. The girl at her table, Angelie Daniels, had been nice to her, but she had already gone to catch up with her other friends. It seemed that the only other lonely one was Patton, who had already gone up to his dorm.
She had been hoping against all odds that somehow, all five of them would end up in the same house.
But of course, she should have noticed that they were all quite different.
Nigel was serious, hard-working, and a natural born leader even though he could start panicking easily. Wally was daring and strong, which made up for his size. Abby was cool, smart, and someone who had no trouble in reaching her goals. Finally, Hoagie was a complete jokester, which he had proven on the train by using terrible puns that no one found funny, but was still exceptionally intelligent and curious.
It was no help when the rest of the school thought of them as complete ninnies. She did, however, take a liking to the Hufflepuff ghost, the Fat Friar. He was a plump and jolly old ghost who enjoyed solving the students' problems and hearing them out.
In the end, Kuki decided to stop feeling sorry for herself and go to sleep. She walked up the stairs that led to the girls' dormitories.
There, she found all of her things piled up in front of a four-poster bed closest to the window. She organized her luggage, and then changed into her pajamas and got into her bed.
"Tomorrow, I have Defense Against the Dark Arts with the Ravenclaws, so I'll be able to see Abby and Hoagie again. I could even take Sunny to the Owlery so she won't be lonely," she thought happily. And so, because of these thoughts, she was finally able to fall asleep.