When the train finally stopped, Kurt, Blaine, and Mercedes got off together. Kurt and Mercedes had hit it off very quickly, getting lost in talk of fashion while Blaine looked on. As they got off the train, they heard someone yelling, "Firs' year! Firs' years! Come on this way!"
The source of the yelling was an gigantic man, standing nearly twice as tall as most of the 11-year-olds. He had a giant overcoat with lots of pockets on, a pair of old boots that were about 2 feet tall, and a face that was mostly obscured by his enormous beard. Once all the first years had gathered around him, he introduced himself as Hagrid, the Hogwarts Gamekeeper, and led them down a rocky path.
At the end of the path was a lake, with a fleet of rowboats on the shore. Hagrid yelled, "Four to a boat! Jus' four!", as the first years moved towards the boats.
Kurt ended up in a boat with Blaine, Mercedes, and a brunette girl who introduced herself as Rachel Berry, future star, and just wouldn't stop talking after that. As they moved across the lake, Kurt idly wondered if he'd get in trouble for pushing the talkative girl in the lake. A look at Blaine and Mercedes showed that they were thinking basically the same thing.
As they rounded a bend, everyone, even Rachel, let out a collective "ooh" of appreciation. Hogwarts was framed starkly against the sky, lit up magnificently. Kurt was struck with wonder that this amazing, enchanted castle was going to be his home for the next 7 school years, and a grin spread across his face.
Rachel had rushed back to her compartment when the train started to approach Hogsmeade, so Quinn got off the train alone. She stood around for a minute, confused as to where to go, but suddenly found herself being dragged down a path by another blond girl.
The girl didn't let go of Quinn the entire way down the path, but eventually slowed down as they approached a lake. There was a fleet of rowboats near the shore, each looking big enough to seat a lot of people, but most of them were filled with only 4 or 5 people. The girl dragged her towards a boat with a Latina-looking girl sitting in it.
When they reached the boat, the girl let go of Quinn's arm, and Quinn stumbled at the sudden lack of pull. The girl climbed into the boat, while Quinn stood there, before the darker girl said, "Come on, get in the boat." Quinn obediently climbed in.
Quinn and the other two girls sat there in silence. Just as Quinn was about to ask if they had to row the boats, the boat they were in gave a small shudder then started moving across the lake by itself.
Not long after the boat started moving, Quinn caught the other blond looking at her curiously. Before she could ask what was wrong, the other girl asked, "Are you a veela?"
Quinn was perplexed. "What's a veela?", she asked.
"They're women who are blond and pretty and magical," said the girl. "At least that's what my mom said. And you're blond and pretty and magical, so I thought you were a veela."
Quinn blushed, and was thankful that the darkness hid it. This was the second time in one day she had been called pretty. "Um, well, I'm not, as far as I know, but thanks."
"You're welcome," the blond replied. "So what's your name? Mine's Brittany S. Pierce, and this is Santana Lopez. Santana and I are best friends. Do you want to be our other best friend?"
Quinn paused, shocked at the blatant offer of friendship, before replying with a smile, "My name's Quinn Fabray, and I'd love to be your other best friend."
Blaine looked anxiously around the lobby. After the boats had landed, Hagrid had led them into the castle, leaving them off in the lobby. That had been a few minutes ago, and nothing had really happened since, so the first years were now beginning to wonder what was going on.
"Excuse me," said a female voice with a Scottish accent. The first years looked up to find a severe-looking woman wearing emerald-green robes. "My name is Minerva McGonagall, and I am the Headmistress. Before you go into the Great Hall to get Sorted, I would like to talk to you about the Sorting itself."
"You will be Sorted into one of four Houses: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, or Slytherin. While you are a student at Hogwarts, your house will be like your family. If you'll look over there," she said, pointing off to the side, "You will see that there are four hourglasses. The will show your House's points, which will be added when you accomplish something, or subtracted for rule-breaking. Now, come inside, and you'll get Sorted." With that, McGonagall turned around walked to the huge doors, which opened, as the first years followed.
Cooper had said that the Great Hall was magnificent, but nothing could have prepared Blaine for how breathtaking it was. He hardly knew where to look- at the tables filled with students, and the floating candles, at the ceiling that seemed to not be there at all, instead opening up to the starry sky. As the first years filed between two tables, he finally noticed a raggedy hat sitting on a stool.
Blaine had heard about the Sorting Hat, but he hadn't realized it would look this raggedy. However, he was unsurprised when the Hat burst into song.
Blaine didn't pay too much attention to the words. From what Cooper had told him, it basically just listed the qualities of the Houses. When it was done, McGonagall marched up to stand behind the hat, and pulled out a scroll from her robe, saying, "When I call your name, you will come up and put the Sorting Hat on your head. When it Sorts you, go to your table and leave the hat on the stool." She opened the scroll and called out, "Abrams, Arthur."
A brown-haired boy with glasses walked up, and put on the Hat with trembling hands. The Hat was silent for a few moments, before shouting "HUFFLEPUFF!" The table on the right exploded with cheers, and Arthur took off the hat, and walked towards the table. As soon as he sat down, McGonagall called out, "Anderson, Blaine."
Blaine felt nervous as he walked up to the hat. He was hoping to be in Gryffindor like Coop, but who knew where the Sorting Hat would put him? He picked up the hat and put it on.
"Hmm," said a voice in his ear. With a start, Blaine realized that it was the Sorting Hat's voice. "Let's see, let's see...ah, loyalty, very good, and determination. I think you'd do well in HUFFLEPUFF!"
Blaine took off the hat, and turned towards the table that had cheered last time, and were cheering now as well. He sat next to the other boy who had been Sorted, and said, "Hi, my name's Blaine." The boy answered, "I'm Artie."
After the introduction, Blaine was silent. He realized that the list was going alphabetically by last name, so he started paying attention when "Hale, Derek" was called, and Sorted into Slytherin. "Hawthorn, Rue" joined the Hufflepuff table, while "Hudson, Finn" went to Gryffindor. And now- "Hummel, Kurt" was called, and Kurt walked up to the Sorting Hat and put it on. Only seconds after it touched his head, the hat yelled "SLYTHERIN", and Kurt and Blaine looked at each other. Blaine looked panicked, but Kurt's gaze said "Don't worry, we'll still be best friends" as he walked towards the Slytherin table.
After that, the Sorting passed by in a blur, until finally "Williams, Rory" was Sorted into Hufflepuff. McGonagall rolled up the list and put it in her pocket, then walked to the center of the teacher's table, and clinked her glass for silence. When everyone quieted, McGonagall smiled and said, "Enjoy the feast!" as the empty gold plates magically filled with food.
Blaine smiled. He had the feeling he was really going to enjoy being at Hogwarts.
"Hello. I didn't catch your name earlier, what was it again?"
Quinn looked up from her meal. There was a girl with curly ginger-blond hair standing next to her. "I'm Quinn," she replied. "And you're..."
"Lydia Martin," the girl replied. "Are you excited to be in Ravenclaw? I definitely am."
Quinn considered the question. She had payed attention to the Sorting Hat's song, especially when it had listed the qualities of each House. She had actually thought that she would get into Hufflepuff, where Brittany had been Sorted, but after a few seconds of deliberation, the Hat had shouted "RAVENCLAW!", and Quinn had gone off to the Ravenclaw table. While everyone was being Sorted, she reflected on why the Hat had put her there, and decided that it was a compliment to her intelligence that she had been Sorted into Ravenclaw. So, overall, she was pretty happy to be there.
"Well, I'm happy I'm in Ravenclaw, but honestly, I'm just happy I'm here at Hogwarts at all. I'm the only witch in my family, so..."
"Oh," said Lydia. "My Mom and her side of the family are all witches and wizards, but they've all been in Ravenclaw, so I'm really happy I'm here."
Quinn and Lydia talked some more; well, really, Quinn asked a lot of questions about what growing up was like for Lydia, and Lydia was more than happy to talk. Lydia was also curious about what growing up as the only witch in her family was like for Quinn, so they kept chattering back and forth until McGonagall called for silence.