Rowan and Eve were standing in a large hall in front of gigantic wooden double doors. Professor Granger stood at the head of the group. Rowan had wanted to ask her a billion questions but she was too nervous to say anything yet.
"Alright, what's going to happen is we are going to walk up to the front and then I will call out your name and you will come up to the stage. Then I will place the sorting hat onto your head and it will declare your house. You will then move off the stage and join your new housemates. Let's begin." The Professor opened the doors and the students paraded down the aisle between the Hufflepuff table and the Ravenclaw table until they pooled by the stage.
Professor Granger gave a kind smile to the students before ascending the steps to the short stage. She stood next to a short three legged stool thit a worn witches hat on it. Rowan was anxious. What if she got Hufflepuff, or even worse Gryffindor! Her mother would kill her,or at least pull her out of school. She had to be here. Rowan was so lost in her thoughts that she barely noticed the first couple names being called. She was shaken out of it by her new friend squeezing her hand and asking if she was okay in a hushed whisper.
"I'm fine, just nervous is all." she said, although she sounded calm.
"Eve Brooks." Rowan heard Eve's name being called and turned to her.
"You got this!" She said, acting more sure than she felt. Eve approached the steps. She took a deep breath and walked up to the small stool. She sat, and the hat was placed on her head. It seemed to think for a moment until it decided.
"Slytherin!" The declaration carried across the large hall. Cheers went up from the far left table and Eve sighed. She didn't really know what she had gotten herself into but she was excited. She walked off the stage and to the Slytherin table, still cheering loudly.A few more names went by, Ravenclaw, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff twice, then Slytherin. Finally the name they both were waiting for came.
"Rowan Gaunt!" Professor Granger's voice rang. There were a few gasps from the purebloods at her last name, but not as bad as she had thought they would be. The Gaunt Family was almost extinct, you know. A thousand thoughts ran through her muddled mind as she approached the hat. She sat, and the thoughts all stopped, save one. Though this voice wasn't her own.
"Hmmm," The hat hummed. "Where oh where shall I put you? You would belong wonderfully in Slytherin but I sense a higher intelligence, beyond cunning. Maybe Ravenclaw then? Although there is confidence in there, I don't see Gryffindor," She sighed in relief. "I think it'll be...Ravenclaw!" Cheers erupted from the Ravenclaw table. She walked of the stage happily, this could have gone much worse. She walked over to the table and sat next to another first year named Victorie. Eve and Rowan exchanged excited glances.
The food was delicious! Platters upon platters of meats and cheeses and fruits and all of it was amazing! Eve filled up her plate quickly, used to getting it first so her sister wouldn't take it all,but the platter refilled almost instantly! Rowan got her food slower, and enjoyed every bite. Once all the students stomachs were full, the food disappeared, and all the students dispersed into their own houses.
Rowan marveled at the castle, mesmerised by everything. Although she was used to moving portraits, she had never seen this many in one place, and the stairways were beautiful! And boy were there a lot of them! They walked all the way up a tall tower until we got to a door.
"You will always find me in the past. I can be created in the present, But the future can never taint me. What am I?" The door knocker spoke.
"History" Said our guide, and the door opened. We filed inside. The room was spacious, a circle shape with bookshelves lining any wall space that wasn't taken up by the wide windows, currently covered by heavy blue and gold curtains. The floor was a plush gold carpet and had about 10 double sided desks on it. There were also plush chairs and couches surrounding a small fireplace on one wall.
"Girls on the left, boys on the right. You can pick your beds but but the first floor is for first years and so on. If any girls go up the boy stairs, or boys go up the girl stairs, the stairs will malfunction and I will be alerted. Sleep well."
Eve walked down with the rest of her group, smooth wood stairs and pathways making way for a final rough hewn stone staircase capped off by a heavy oak door with metal studs in it. Our leader said a password, she thought she heard Amortentia, and the door swung open. The group stepped inside the spacious dungeon, dark but lit with green lanterns hanging off the wall. There were extravagant green chairs strewn about, clustered around the elaborate fireplace, with a serpent carving hanging above the mantle.
The back windows, by the stairs were substantially thicker than in the rest of the castle, and Eve soon saw why. They directly backed up to the dark lake they had crossed earlier. Saw almost nothing in the murky waters, but, was that something moving back there? She moved to investigate but the 7th year guide began talking again.
"You heard the password, the dorms are below you, down those stairs. You have bed assignments and they are posted on the dorm room bulletin board. Relax, read a bit, and be unpacked and dressed in your school uniform by 6:30 am. You will find your uniform and a map on the chest at the end of the bed. See you in the morning."