"Come along now!"
It had been a few days since Halley had gotten supplies. Now they were at King's Cross station. Molly was helping Percy, Fred, George, Ron and Halley to Platform Nine and three quarters.
Ginny was begging to go: "Mum, can't I go, please..."
"You're not old enough, Ginny," Molly said, "Now be quiet. Alright Percy, you go first."
Percy ran through the barrier between nine and ten. If Halley didn't know of the wizarding world, she would've thought she was crazy.
"Fred, you next," Molly said.
"I'm not Fred, I'm George," Fred said. "Honestly woman, you call yourself our mother? Can't you tell I'm George?"
"Sorry, George dear."
"Only joking, I am Fred."
Fred went off, with George telling him to hurry up. Then George went.
"Now you, Halley dear, don't be afraid," Molly said.
"Excuse me," a boy with black hair said to Molly as Halley finally built up the courage to run through the barrier, which she did as Molly greeted the boy.
Halley walked to a near empty compartment and stepped in. Hermione looked up from a book.
"Oh hello Halley," she said.
"Hello, Hermione," Halley said, sitting down next to her. "Watcha readin'?"
Hermione lifted her book to let her see. It was Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander. "Have you read any of the books on the list of supplies, Halley?" Hermione asked.
"Oh, yes, nearly all of them," Halley said.
"I've read all of them and am ever so sure I memorized them by heart," Hermione said. "I'm just rereading this for fun."
"Really now?"
Hermione nodded, and the compartment door opened. A boy stood there and fearfully asked, "Have any of you seen my toad, Trevor? I can't find him, and it's not at all safe for him here."
"I don't believe so, but we'll help you look for him," Hermione volunteered. "Won't we, Halley?" She looked at Halley, who nodded and stood up.
"I'm Halley, Halley Starr," Halley introduced herself. "And this is Hermione. Granger. What's your name?"
"Neville Longbottom," responded the boy.
The trio left the compartment in search of Trevor the toad.
Hermione, Halley, and Neville went to several compartments.
Halley opened one near the back and Hermione asked the two boys, Ron and the boy with the black hair, "Has anyone seen a toad? Neville's lost one."
"We've already told him we haven't seen it," Ron said, but Hermione wasn't paying attention; instead she was looking at the wand in his hand.
"Oh, are you doing magic? Let's see it, then," Hermione said, sitting down, and Halley sat next to her.
Ron looked somewhat taken aback as he said "Er—all right," cleared his throat, and recited:
"Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow,
Turn this stupid, fat rat yellow."
Even thought Ron waved his wand a bit, nothing at all happened. Scabbers was still grey.
"Are you sure that's a real spell?" Hermione asked. "Well, it's not very good, is it?" Then she started rambling about how she's tried a few simple spells, and they've all worked fine for her, even though nobody in her family was magic and it was ever such a surprise when she got her letter but she was ever so pleased ad that she learned all the course books by heart, and then introduced herself and Halley.
The black-haired boy blinked and glanced at Ron.
"I'm Ron Weasley," Ron muttered.
"Harry Potter," the black-haired boy said.
"Are you really?" Hermione said. "I know all about you, of course—I got a few extra books for background reading..." And she was off rambling again.
"..Anyway, we'd better go and look for Neville's toad. You two had better change, you know, I expect we'll be there soon."
Hermione, Halley, and Neville left the compartment to continue searching for Neville's toad.
After a while of searching, a voice echoed through the train: "We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes' time. Please leave your luggage on the train; it will be taken to the school separately."
The train slowed and came to a stop. Halley lost sight of Hermione and Neville in the crowd of people when Halley saw a lamp and Hagrid saying, "Firs' years! Firs' years over here!"
They all followed Hagrid down a steep, narrow path. Nobody spoke much, and Halley heard Neville sniff once or twice.
"Yeh'll get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec," Hagrid said to the students, "jus' round this bend here."
There was a loud "Oooh!" as the path opened onto the edge of a great lake, and on the other side on a mountain, was a big castle.
"No more an' four to a boat!" Hagrid called, pointing to little boats by the shore.
"What's Hogwarts like?" Halley asked as she got into a boat with Hagrid. Hagrid was big enough for three in this four to a boat.
"Well, the professors here are helpful. Yeh mustn't get on the wrong side of them, though, such as Snape."
"Who's that?"
"Well he's a Potions professor, been for a few years. Black eyes an' black hair, was a student here."
They eventually got to the castle, where Hagrid spoke to a woman, Professor McGonagall, who led them through the entrance hall, through the halls to a small empty chamber.
She turned to them and explained that the start-of-term banquet would start shortly, and that they would be sorted into four houses, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. That each house had their own history, and also explaining about the House Cup.
"I will return when we are ready for you," Professor McGonagall said, and left.
Suddenly several people screamed. Halley looked up, and gasped. Twenty ghosts had just come through the back wall, and they seemed to be arguing.
The ghosts actually tried to converse with some of the students, but Professor McGonagall had returned and said, "Move along now. The Sorting Ceremony's about to start." The hosts flew away through the opposite wall. "Now, form a line," she told the first years. They all did so, and they walked out of the chamber, to the Great Hall.
There were four long tables, with candles floating in the air above them, and on the tables were golden goblets and plates. At the top of the hall stood another long table where the professors were sitting. Professor McGonagall led them here, and they came to a halt facing all the other students.
Professor McGonagall placed a stool in front of the first years, and on top of that she put a pointed wizard's hat, which was dirty and patched like it had lasted many, many years. There was complete silence. Then the hat started to sing—yes, sing.
After the song, the Great Hall burst into applause, then quieted again. Professor McGonagall stepped forward holding a long roll of parchment and said, "When I call your name, you will put on this hat and sit on the stool to be sorted. Abbot, Hannah!"
A girl with her blonde hair in pigtails stumbled up, and she put on the hat. It fell right over her eyes, and she sat down. After a moment, the hat shouted, "Hufflepuff!"
"Bones, Susan!"
"Hufflepuff!"
"Boot, Terry!"
"Ravenclaw!"
"Brocklehurst, Mandy!"
"Ravenclaw!"
"Brown, Lavender!"
"Gryffindor!"
There was much applause as Gryffindor got its first new first year.
"Bulstrode, Millicent!"
"Slytherin!"
"Crabbe, Vincent!"
"Slytherin!"
"Goyle, Gregory!"
"Slytherin!"
A few more new students were called, and Halley looked up when Professor McGonagall called, "Granger, Hermione!"
"Gryffindor!"
Soon, Neville's name was called. It took a while, but then the hat shouted, "Gryffindor!"
There was some laughter as Neville accidentally started running off with the hat, then he came back and handed it to the next student before going to the Gryffindor table.
"Malfoy, Draco!"
"Slytherin!"
After a few more, "Potter, Harry!"
When Harry Potter, the boy with the black hair and glasses stepped forward, whispers started. The hat was set upon his head, and it took a minute, before it shouted, "Gryffindor!"
"Starr, Halley!"
"Halley stepped nervously up, almost stumbling to the seat. She put the Sorting Hat on.
"Hmm, now where to put you," the hat whispered in her ear, or rather her mind. "Your father was a Slytherin, oh yes, but your mother was a Muggle..."
The hat knew her father?
The hat chuckled. "I have sorted students to their houses since before your father was here! Now where was I... oh yes, your father was a Slytherin..."
Halley glanced over at the Slytherin table; they seemed like an unpleasant lot.
"No? Alright then, you sue have got the brains, just like that Granger girl…no…"
After another moment, "Gryffindor!"