The train ride was lively, with Luna commenting about the strange creatures her father would write about in "The Quibbler" Ginny would crack jokes, and Neville would tell stories about the year prior. Turns out Neville was actually a second year, the year above Luna, Ginny, and Finnian. Neville told them about the four houses, Ravenclaw, Slytherin, Hufflepuff, and Gryffindor, and about all of the different professors who taught there.
"Well yeah," Neville said, "That boy that came in here, the blond one, was Draco Malfoy. A Slytherin boy. He's really into blood supremacy, but my grand mum says it's all rubbish really." He was more talking to Finnian, who had explained to the cabin mates that he knew nothing about the blood status. Luna was a half-blood, like Finnian, whilst Neville and Luna were both pure-bloods who didn't care for the traditional beliefs.
Finnian was absolutely sure he made the right choice sitting with these kids. They had created their own merry band of misfits; as Malfoy would've called them, the coward, the lunatic, the poor girl, and the newest addition, the hot head.
Eventually the train came to it's stop in Hogsmeade, and Neville went on his own way to carriages that anyone who wasn't a first year rode.
A tall man, Hagrid, Neville had told them, stood by dozens of boats that floated on a murky lake that was so dark, it barely reflected the light from the stars. "Firs' years! Firs' years o'er 'ere!" The man bellowed, brushing his arm out to the boats. "No more 'n four to a boat!" Luna, Ginny, Finnian, and a small boy clambered into a boat together.
"Hello there!" He grinned, "I'm Collin. Collin Creevey." He held out his hand for the three of them to shake, but when the boats pushed off, he immediately pushed it back on the boat to steady himself. Finnian was staring at the castle in awe. It looked like something out of a fairytale. Grand towers shone with warm lights, and a shining entrance awaited the awestruck children.
Heat radiated from the doors when the boats eventually finished their journey, and the new students were greeted with an older, strict looking witch. "Hello first years of Hogwarts," Her dialect was distinctly Scottish, "I am Professor McGonagall. Now we shall go to the Grand Hall where you will be sorted into your houses. There you will find the others you will be having classes with." And with that, she led them into the Great Hall.
Everything in the Hall was grand. The tables were long to accommodate the large student population, and the golden eagle podium at the front was decorated with candles. In fact, there were many floating candles that supplied light to the students. Looking up, Finnian found not a traditional ceiling, but a shimmering night's sky over top of him.
"When I call your name, you are to come up." McGonagall stated after, what Finnian could only assume was chanted, a song from a magical talking hat. She started from the top of the alphabet. "Maryann Abrahams" the list continued smoothly enough until she landed on Finnian's name. Her eyes clearly widened, and she brought her glasses down to squint at the paper. "Finnian Evans"
Finnian took a deep breath, and when he stepped forward, he could feel the eyes of someone glaring at him. He quickly made his way over to the tattered brown hat that was then placed on his hand. He heard a voice in his head.
"An Evans, huh? Would you happen to be related to Lily Evans, by chance?" It asked him.
Nodding slightly, Finnian responded, "Yes sir. She's my mum."
The hat chuckled, "No need to be formal boy. It's just surprising to see another Evans. Especially after…" It trailed off. Whispers, by then, had split across the hall, all among the lines of asking why it had taken so long. "Now what house to put you in? Certainly not Hufflepuff, sorry about that. You have wit, though I don't think that's the right place for you… Then Slytherin or Gryffindor... "
Finnian gulped. From all that he'd heard, Slytherin was no place for a boy like him. "Gryffindor. I want to be in Gryffindor." He stated simply to the hat, who had perked up.
"Yes, voicing your opinion is rather bold." It raised it's voice louder and yelled out,
"GRYFFINDOR!" The house cheered loudly, as McGonagall took the hat from his head. He ran over to the ruby coloured table, sat next to Neville who patted him on the back. He continued to watch the sorting ceremony, cheering extra loud when Ginny had been sorted into Gryffindor with him. He was rather disappointed that Luna was a Ravenclaw, but he reasoned that he'd still be able to see her in school.
The Gryffindor prefects led them after the feast had been finished, but as he exited out of the Great Hall, he could still feel a pair of eyes, staring into the back of his head.
(A/N: Finally a longer update. So this story got 1000 views?! That's so cool, thank you so much! Tomorrow's actually my birthday, so I consider this an early birthday gift. Thanks!)