The ceremony was entertaining, to say the least. A tattered hat had been placed on an old wooden stool in the front of the hall, and then, through a tear in its brim, it sang. It was a talking hat. Its brown leather even had wrinkles akin to those that develop around the mouths of the elderly! Whenever the hat was transferred from one student to the next, Rory tried to peer inside to find a tiny speaker or arduino board that could help explain its ability to talk. She was convinced that "magic" still boiled down to physics and computer logic. Sadly, from her seat near the back of the Great Hall, she could see no evidence of electrical components.
The content of the hat's song was just as troublesome to Rory as its lacking electronics. The hat's song described Hogwarts as a school divided into houses defined by personality traits. Slytherins were supposed to be clever and cunning. She thought this description fit Nate pretty well as she recalled his distrust of her on the train. Ravenclaws valued wit and learning. Rory hadn't met any Ravenclaws yet, but she imagined that they appreciated puns and that they would accept her passion for physics and astronomy.
Hufflepuffs were friendly and loyal. She cringed as she thought of Debbi, Isla and Tyler. They were definitely friendly, albeit to a creepy level. Then, she thought of Laura, the kind prefect who had helped her find a robe to wear. She had been friendly, too, and she had been loyal to Rory from the start by helping her. Because of Laura, Rory knew that not all Hufflepuffs were as giddy as the three she had shared a compartment with.
Gryffindors were brave. She thought back to the red-clad compartment on the train, and wondered how such mean behavior could be considered brave. The group of students she encountered was undoubtedly feisty. She hoped that these students were not representative of the entire house, and wondered whether their resentment toward her simply displayed an inability to relate to people from different houses. Rory supposed that isolating students based on a brand of personality test delivered by a hat to eleven-year-olds probably inhibited cooperation skills. If these students only socialized with people with similar values, how could they relate to people with different values?
After the sorting finished, and the first-years were seated at their respective tables, the black-haired woman in emerald-green robes announced that it was time to start the feast, and the plates of snacks in front of Rory transformed into towers of entrees. As Rory picked at her lasagna, Nate turned to the boy with curly brown hair seated across from Rory and asked, "Fritz, truth or dare?" Rory rolled her eyes. She hadn't played truth or dare since she was ten.
Fritz rested his chin on his hand to stroke his nonexistent facial hair pensively. "Dare," He decided.
Nate smirked and looked around the hall. "Alright. I dare you to go to the Ravenclaw table and start a battle of fish puns."
Fritz pinched his eyebrows together. "Man, I thought you were gonna give me something fun," he complained. . Rory's eyes trailed him as he trudged to the end of the Ravenclaw table and announced, "Gee, I'd krill to have a pun battle."
Instantaneously, the hall was buzzing with responses. "Whale, I'll win!" someone shouted. "I don't think I'm herring you right. Did you say you'll lose?" came the reply. "Your puns cod be better," another student taunted. Rory giggled and told Nate, "These puns are kraken me up." He smiled shook his head in mock disappointment. A minute later, Fritz returned to the table.
"Nate, truth or dare?"
"Truth."
"Would you ever be friends with a Gryffindor?"
Rory leaned forward. Only minutes ago, she wondered about the isolation of different houses, and the answer to this question might help her understand whether students here branched out to people with different values.
Nate pinched his nose as he thought. "No," he concluded. "I can't imagine getting along with those oh-so righteous gits. We're just not compatible."
Rory again thought about her experience in the red-clad compartment, and she, too, doubted that anyone could be compatible with people who were that rude to strangers. However, part of her was also offended. Wasn't Nate promising to help her find Professor McGonagall so she could get sorted? She thought that she related most to Ravenclaw, but if she were put into Gryffindor, would Nate really stop being her friend? She shook these questions out of her head. After all, this was a day trip. Nate wasn't really her friend anyway, and she definitely wasn't going to wait around long enough get sorted.
She glanced at her watch. 8:00 pm. She should leave soon, anyway, she thought as Nate turned to her. "Rory, truth or dare?" he asked.
Rory said, "Sorry, I'm not playing" and excused herself to the loo. On her way out of the Great Hall, she removed the borrowed robe and casually dropped it by the exit for Nate to find later.
She was leaving the building when she heard her name.
"Rory!"
She turned to see Laura, running up to her with the robe she had dropped.
"I think you dropped this. I wouldn't want you to lose it!" She handed the robe to Rory and then walked back into the Great Hall.
Rory folded it and placed it by the door and then resumed her exit when she heard her name. Again. She didn't stop this time. She had walked down 3 of the castle's steps when she heard her name a third time. She looked behind her. It was Nate. He was standing, arms crossed, robe in hand in the doorway. She really couldn't get away from that stupid robe!
"Rory, truth or dare?"
"Nate, I told you I'm not playing."
"Good you chose truth. Why were you asking about the train schedule?"
Rory shuffled her feet. She could lie, but if Nate's behavior on the train was any indication, he would see right through her, and she might as well tell the truth. Besides, it was getting too late in the day to do otherwise if she had any hope of getting home before nightfall. "I'm going home," she responded.
"I thought you were pretending to be a transfer," he said, raising an eyebrow.
Rory barked out a laugh. "Not anymore. I need to find a way home."
"You're a terrible liar," Nate commented before beckoning her inside. "Professor McGonagall can help you find your way home."
Nate led Rory through tangled hallways and moving stairs until they reached a gargoyle.
"Catnip," he said, and the gargoyle moved aside to reveal a spiral staircase. As the two entered the stairwell, Rory tried to find evidence of electronic components in the gargoyle, again to no avail. The top of the stairs opened into a large and beautiful circular room. A number of curious silver instruments rested on tables, whirring and emitting little puffs of smoke. The walls were covered with portraits of old headmasters and headmistresses, all of whom were sleeping. There was also an enormous hardwood desk, and, sitting on top of it, the shabby brown wizard's hat from the sorting ceremony. Behind that desk sat the black-haired woman in emerald-green robes. Reading glasses threatened to fall off the tip of her nose as she arched over a piece of parchment, scribbling with a quill and ink.
"Excuse me, headmistress," Nate said, "But this is Rory. She doesn't attend school here and would like to go home."
The headmistress, who must have been Professor McGonagall, jumped as if she had not heard the two enter. Then, she took off her reading glasses and swished her twig in the air. Two chairs appeared on the closer side of the hardwood desk. Nate took a seat, so Rory followed suit. She patted the edges of the chairs, searching for translucent strings or magnetic strips, but found nothing.
"What do you mean, she doesn't attend school here?" the headmistress asked Nate. "That's absurd." She looked at Rory. "How did you get here?"
Rory started twiddling with her thumbs and answered, "I caught the train."
"But how did you find the platform?"
"Well, last May I kinda tripped into it." Rory glanced up at the headmistress. Her face was stern. Rory took a deep breath before continuing. "And I had a day off from work today and decided to investigate it. But then there was this train and it was leaving to some unknown destination, so—"
"You just decided to hop on? With no way to get back?" shrieked the headmistress, who was now standing.
Rory decided to match the headmistress's body language and stood, too. "Well most trains have a consistent schedule," she fired back.
McGonagall took her seat and massaged her temples as she thought about how to deal with this student.
Nate interrupted the silence. "You can't get onto the platform if you don't have magical connections," he reminded the headmistress. "And don't we have an open spot in out grade's roster anyway?" he asked, raising both eyebrows at the headmistress.
The headmistress's eyebrows shot up in response, indicating more depth to Nate's words than Rory understood. Hesitantly, McGonagall continued, "yes, indeed we do have an extra space on the roster. Rory was it? What is your full name?"
"Rory Jones," Rory responded.
"And Rory isn't short for anything?" asked the headmistress, twirling a quill between her fingers.
"It's short for Aurora, but nobody calls me that. Ever." Rory's face contorted with the sound of her full first name. It sounded so formal. The only plus to having that as her first name was the natural phenomenon behind it. In that way, the name was fitting of Rory. Aurora, or northern lights, occurred when charged particles from the sun struck atoms in Earth's atmosphere. They caused electrons in the atoms to move to a higher-energy state. When the electrons dropped back to a lower energy state, they released photons of different frequencies, painting a beautiful rainbow in the night sky.
Professor McGonagall blinked twice before deciding how to respond. She stood again and peered at Rory. "Miss Jones," she started. Rory thought the emphasis on her surname was odd, but she didn't question it. "You have two options. The first option is to attend this school. If you were able to get through the platform entrance, you must have magic, which means you're a witch. If you start here, you can hone your skills through classes like potions and charms and astronomy. You'll be behind, but you might be able to catch up eventually if you put in enough time. However, if you don't accept this offer, you will be sent back to your muggle life and your mind will be wiped of everything: the platform, the train, the school."
Rory did not recognize many of the words the headmistress had said. What was a muggle? Charms? Potions? Magic? Rory's head was swimming with questions, but most of all, she was curious about the astronomy. Her high school offered no more physics classes, and they certainly had no astronomy courses. Let's face it, she thought to herself, you're bored in London. You don't really have any friends to tie you down, and think of all of the questions you can answer if you stay. She straightened her posture and folded her hands in her lap."How many astronomy classes are offered?"
"Seven years worth."
Rory's eyes widened with wonder before she quickly remembered Odi and her job. His physical presence might not prevent her from spontaneously deciding to attend the school-after all, he was going to leave her alone in London in order to work on his new film project-but the financial burden might. "How much money is tuition?" Rory asked.
Nate's head snapped up, the calculating expression returning to his face. Was money not a consideration for him, or was he just surprised that she was seriously considering the school?
"Well that depends on how much you have. I assume that you are living with muggles, in which case you do not have magical currency and you can attend for free," responded the headmistress. "Do you need to consult any guardians on this decision?"
Rory thought about asking to call her brother. Since he was technically her guardian, she probably should consult him on this decision. However, Rory doubted he would protest her transfer, especially after hearing about how many astronomy courses this place offered. Besides, Rory doubted Odi would even register her transfer; he was too busy with his job. Rory slowly shook her head. "No," she said simply.
"Alright..." trailed McGonagall. "Have you made your decision? Are you staying or going?"
Rory paused once more to ensure that she chose correctly. She could go home, attend a high school that prevents her from following her passion, and work to help Odi pay her tuition and rent, or she could stay here, follow her passion for physics and astronomy, and not have a tuition to pay. Her choice was clear. "I'll stay."
"Good," nodded McGonagall. "You'll be sorted first thing tomorrow morning. You'll be behind, but you might be able to catch up. Maybe. But only if you are committed to your studies and have the luck of being paired with sympathetic professors. This is not a guarantee. I'll see you tomorrow at seven o'clock."
As Nate and Rory exited the circular office and weaved through the corridors of Hogwarts, Rory couldn't help but think how much she appreciated McGonagall's confidence in her ability to academically compete with eleven-year-olds.
