The Trouble Tails of Life at Hogwarts
Chapter Three
The Great Hall was massive; four long tables ran the length of the hall was where the students sat divided into their school houses. A table at the front of the room was where Hagrid and the school teachers, at least I guessed they where teachers, sat. At one of the four student tables, I saw Fred, George, and Lee Jordan, who smiled and waves as I passed.
"You know them?" Brunette asked.
"We shared a compartment on the train here," I explained simply.
We were lead to the staff table and lined up along it, facing our fellow students, as a stool was places in front of us, a dirty old hat rested on top of it. Candles lit the hall, floating in the air. The stars twinkled down from the enchanted ceiling. The air was thick with tension.
I started at the old hat, thinking it had to do something when a tare at its base opened wide and a song rang out. The song explained that the hat, named The Sorting Hat, would sort us into one of the four Hogwarts houses based on traits. Gryffindor's or show-offs; Hufflepuff's are clingy; Ravenclaw's are smarty pants; while Slytherin's are self-centered. Lovely bunch of traits for houses really.
When the Sorting Hat's song was done, the first student was called forward. Hannah Abbott was sorted into Hufflepuff. First year after first year was called and places. Stutter Boy, whose name was Boq….something, was sorted into Hufflepuff.
"Please God don't put me in Hufflepuff," I muttered to myself as Boq joined his fellow Hufflepuff's.
"Granger, Hermione," and the girl from the train, the one helping to find the toad, all but ran to the stool and was sorted in Gryffindor. As she ran off to join the other Gryffindor's, where Fred, George and Lee were housed, I told myself I wouldn't mind being in any house so long as Ditz wasn't in it with me and Tattoo Guy was.
"Johnson, Ismarina." Red Head walked confidently to the stool and sat down.
So, her name is Ismarina. I've got to remember that. I told myself silently as Ismarina was sorted into Slytherin.
"Jones, Alexandretta," Professor McGonagall called out.
Groaning, I moved through the crowed towards the stool, leaving behind Brunette and Green Girl. Professor McGonagall put the Sorting Hat on top of my head. It barley fell below my eyes when the Hat bellowed loudly "Slytherin!"
"Darn it!" I heard the twins yell, and a "No!" from Lee Jordan, as I pulled the hat from my head (laughing inwardly at the twins and Lee's outburst) and gave it to Professor McGonagall and I turned to join Ismarina at our house table.
"Looks like we're together," Ismarina said with a smile as I sat down next to her.
"Looks like it," I smiled back. Looking over to the Gryffindor table, I saw Fred, George and Lee looking at me in disbelief.
A few more students where sorted before McGonagall called out "Lionheart, Annaleigh" and the Ditz walked away from the unsorted crowd of first years. The hat was placed on her head, the room in silences as we waited (I silently prayed she wouldn't be put into Slytherin). The tare, or mouth, of the hat opened as if to yell out a house but it didn't. The hat just exploded into small pieces of felt. The first years all seemed to laugh, while the older students, and teachers, all gasped.
"That's never happened before," Professor McGonagall said, waving her wand and the Sorting Hat mended together again before she put in back onto Ditz's head.
After a few seconds the tare opened once more, an intake of breath for the students echoed in the silent hall, and bellowed "Ravenclaw!"
"Oh, thank god. She's not with me," I muttered softly as the Ravenclaw table erupted into cheers as Ditz joined them.
"Wasn't she the girl that got soaked on the lake?" Ismarina asked me. "Do you know her or something?"
"Yeah she was the girl and no I don't know her." Ismarina gave me a weird look; as if my not liking Ditz on sight was out of place. "She's an idiot ditz," I explained. "I saw trip on the platform at 9 and three quarters after screaming that she hadn't crash when coming through the portal. And she's the girl that screamed that Hagrid was Bigfoot."
"Oh, that was her?" Ismarina laughed.
"Malfoy, Draco!"
The blond haired boy I had noticed on the train, while in my search for the restroom to change. Like with me, the hat barley hit his head before it hollered "Slytherin!" Malfoy came and joined his to bodyguard friends, Crabbe and Goyle, who had already been sorted and were sitting on the other side of the table from Ismarina and me.
More people where sorted. A low mummer of voices was a constant noise in the hall as students were getting bored, Ismarina and me among them.
"Potter, Harry!"
The hall fell silent once more as the black haired boy I had saw on the train in the compartment with the red boy walked slowly forward. He sat under the hat for quite some time before the Sorting Hat declared him a "Gryffindor!"
The Gryffindor table went crazy, people cheering at the top of their lung. Fred and George were yelling "We got Potter!" as Harry took his set.
More people were sorted. Tattoo Guy, Fiyero Tiggular, was put into Gryffindor to my disappointment. I had hoped he would be in my house where I could see his tattoo's all the time. Blondie, Galinda Upland, was put into Hufflepuff which meant that Ditz lost all her friends and well now have to make new ones. Brunette, whose name turns out to be Carina Stroker, was put into Gryffindor along with Tattoo Guy Fiyero. Green Girl, Elphaba Thropp, was sadly sorted into Ravenclaw. The last person sorted was Blaise Zabini, who joined his fellow Slytherin's.
After the last kid was sorted, (Blaise Zabini, a fellow Slytherin) Albus Dumbledore got up to give a speech. Groaning, I looked at him, wishing he would get it over with soon, I wanted food.
Dumbledore's speech was short to my relief. It consisted of what sounded like a heart filled welcome to both new and old students and ended with the words "Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!" He sat down as everyone clapped and cheered, save for a few students.
"My father said Dumbledore's senile," Malfoy said snottily in a matter-of-fact tone.
"I've always heard that Dumbledore's brilliant," Ismarina contradicted.
"He's conpleatly mad," Malfoy argued.
"Most of the world's greatest people are at least a little mad," I supplied as the once empty plates filled in front of us and kids started filling their plates with food. "If they weren't, then nothing in the world would change. Bringing about change means pushing bounders and that means going against what others think is normal."
"So true," Ismarina said with a smile.
I looked over at the Gryffindor table as I piled food onto my plate. I saw the Weasley twins, Lee Jordan, and sitting not far from them was Tattoo Guy Fiyero, his tattoos visible only because his head was turned to as he was talking with Carina who was sitting next to him. I got the feeling I was being watched and looked around. Sure enough, Draco Malfoy was starting at me, eyes wide. It was a little unnerving really, but I looked back over at the Gryffindor's table, although I had the feeling Malfoy was still staring at me from across the table.
"You have a strange accent. Where are you from?" Blaise Zabini asked me, drawing me attention back to the group.
"America," I answered, taking a bit of potatoes.
"Wow, that's some commute for school then," Blaise said with a shake of his head.
"You have no idea," I said remembering the long plane ride to get to England, and the train ride this afternoon.
"Why did you come here then?" Millicent Bulstrode asked.
"I was accepted here," I answered. "Why are you here?"
"What I meant was… why didn't you go to school in America?" Millicent corrected.
"Umm…my Uncle said that Hogwarts was where I should go to school… Said it's one of the best school in the world...My parents just took his word for it and here I am. What about you?"
"My parents wanted me close to home," Millicent answered, then turned to Ismarina for her answer.
"This is the closest school, and I was accepted," she answered.
"My father wanted to send me to Durmstrang but my mother wanted me closer to home, so I came here instead," Malfoy chimed in.
The conversations continued like that for the rest of dinner, everyone around us talking about why they came to Hogwarts, where their families are from, that sort of stuff. Malfoy seemed to through his father into the conversations as much as possible, which was getting very annoying.
After dessert was over with, the pull fro sleep was growing strong as Dumbledore stood up once more and gave the speech I had expected before dinner. He made note of rules to remember such as; the forest was forbidden (hence the name The Forbidden Forest), no magic was to be used in the corridors (dang it), Quidditch trials were going to happen in like two weeks (whatever Quidditch was), and the third-floor corridor on the right side was off limits to all students unless they wish to die (now I'm interested). Lastly, Dumbledore shot a golden ribbon from his wand and told everyone to pick their favorite tune as we were going to sing the school song.
"I haven't a clue what song to sing to," I muttered as the school erupted into song.
I quickly joined Ismarina with her song Danny Boy (figures she would pick an Irish song with her red hair). It was the weirdest thing; everyone was singed different tones and finished at different time. Fred and George were the last students singing, having chosen to sing to a very slow funeral march. After the song was over, Dumbledore dismissed us to our houses.