A/N: Well, here is the third chapter: the Sorting, and yes Hufflepuff is in the mix, because let's face it, Hermione is a pretty hard worker and extremely loyal. The hat would at least consider it, though would quickly discard it with her brains and bravery.
I have added a bit more at the end, mainly Hermione meeting her new dorm mates; Lavender and Parvati. I've also added a conversation about classes with Percy.
No copyright infringement intended. Everything is Jo Rowling's amazing creation, other than what is not.
Please R&R. Thank you!
Chapter Three: Hogwarts
'The firs'-years, Professor McGonagall' said Hagrid.
'Thank you, Hagrid. I will take them from here' said Professor McGonagall.
She pulled open the door, and led the first years into a large entrance hall. Hermione saw another large door, light spilled from the room behind it, and hundreds of voices were heard. Professor McGonagall closed the two sets of doors, and turned to face the students.
'Welcome to Hogwarts' she began. 'The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will be have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory and spend free time in your house common room.'
'The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are here at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn you house points, while any rule-breaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the House Cup, a great honour. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours.'
'The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting.'
'I shall return when we are ready for you. Please wait quietly.' Professor McGonagall surveyed the crowd before turning around and walking into the hall.
Hermione started panicking slightly. How would they sort them. She started whispering all of the spells she had learnt over the summer, wondering which ones she would need. It was annoying, not knowing just how they would be tested. She heard a few of her fellow first-years muttering nervously about what they would be required to do.
Suddenly, she heard a few gasps. She looked up and saw the objects which had caused this reaction. About twenty ghosts had floated through the walls adjacent to the grand staircase. Hermione had, of course read about the ghosts in Hogwarts: A History, but even so, she was still amazed to see them in real life. There was Sir Nicholas, who had wanted to join the Headless Hunt, but was not properly beheaded, then the Fat Friar. But the two mysteries were The Grey Lady and the Bloody Baron.
The ghosts at first didn't notice the first years, they were arguing whether or not to let in someone by the name of 'Peeves'. Sir Nicholas seemed to be winning. The Fat Friar, however had noticed the first years.
'New students!' she said, smiling around. 'About to be sorted, I suppose?' A few people nodded at her. 'Hope to see you in Hufflepuff! My old house, you know.'
'Move along now' said a sharp voice. Hermione looked around to see Professor McGonagall herding some first years into the open doors of the Great Hall. 'The Sorting Ceremony's about to start.' The ghosts went through the walls, into the Great Hall. 'Now, form a line, and follow me.'
The first years followed Professor McGonagall into the Great Hall. They passed the four long tables. Hermione attempted to ignore the curious glances of all the other students who were sitting there, scrutinizing the new batch of first years. Hermione looked up and saw the enchanted ceiling: 'It's bewitched to look like the sky outside, I read about it in Hogwarts: A History' she said, to no one in particular. The first years were led to the raised platform, where they stood, waiting to for instructions.
Hermione looked up at the platform. She saw the staff table with Dumbledore in the middle, in a golden chair. Beside him was an empty chair, which was probably Professor McGonagall's. She scanned the rest of the table, and only recognised Hagrid, who was sitting in a special, large chair. In front of the table was a golden lectern, with a golden owl on it, and a few candles. Beside this was a three-legged stool, on which rested an old wizard's hat and a scroll of parchment.
A rip near the brim appeared and opened, and the hat sang:
'Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,
But don't always judge on what you see,
I'll eat myself if you can find
A smarter hat than me.
You can keep your bowlers black,
Your top hats sleek and tall,
For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat
And I can tap them all.
There's nothing hidden in your head
The Sorting Hat can't see,
So try me on and I will tell you
Where you ought to be.
You might belong in Gryffindor,
Where dwell the brave at heart,
Their daring, nerve and chivalry
Set Gryffindors apart;
You might belong in Hufflepuff,
Where they are just and loyal,
Those patient Hufflepuffs are true
And unafraid of toil;
Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,
If you've a ready mind,
Where those of wit and learning,
Will always find their kind;
Or perhaps in Slytherin
You'll make your real friends,
Those cunning folks use any means
To achieve their ends.
So put me on!
Don't be afraid!
And don't get in a flap!
You're in safe hands (though I have none)
For I'm a Thinking Cap!'
The Hall burst into applause. Professor McGonagall took the scroll of parchment and unrolled it. She called out: 'When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted. Abbott, Hannah!'
The girl in question hurried up to take a seat. Professor McGonagall placed the hat on her head. A moment's pause, then: 'HUFFLEPUFF!' shouted the hat.
Hannah Abbott went to join the table on the right. Susan Bones was also sorted into Hufflepuff. Terry Boot became the first Ravenclaw and the table second from the left clapped the loudest this time. Lavender Brown became the first Gryffindor; the table on the far left exploded with applause and cheers. The first Slytherin was Millicent Bulstrode. The table on the far right cheered this time. It was obvious, Hermione thought to herself, why Gryffindor and Slytherin were so far apart. They were obviously rivals and there was probably some form of childish behavior thrown in the mix.
Hermione was snapped out of her reverie when Professor McGonagall called: 'Granger, Hermione!'
Hermione practically ran to the stool and jammed the hat on.
'Hmm. What do we have here?' said a voice in her ear. 'Well, a muggle-born, very intelligent, but certainly not Slytherin. Perhaps Hufflepuff? No. You may work hard, but that is not your strongest characteristic. You're very bright, but also very brave. Where to put you?' asked the hat.
'I don't know, Ravenclaw would be great, but Gryffindor sounds amazing as well' thought Hermione to herself, not knowing that the hat could hear her thoughts.
'Oh, you can't decide either. Hmm, perhaps I should dig a little deeper. Ah, yes, I see now, it is perfectly clear where you belong' said the Hat. 'Of course it suits you rather well, now that I think that you belong in GRYFFINDOR!' the hat shouted the last word for the whole Hall to hear. Hermione realised that though it had seemed like ten minutes, she had barely even had the hat on.
Hermione stood up and went off towards the Gryffindor table. She was met by a great deal of hands being shaken and a red-headed fifth year saying: 'Congratulations, welcome to Gryffindor, I'm Percy Weasley, one of the prefects.'
'And a prat' said another red-head to his twin brother. 'Eh, George?'
'Yeah, Fred' replied the twin. Percy blushed.
Hermione looked back up at the sorting. Sally-Anne Perks had just been sorted. Professor McGonagall called out: 'Potter, Harry!' The hall erupted into whispers. Hermione suspected why. Fred and George, beside her, began discussing which house the famous wizards would be sorted into.
Harry himself went up and sat on the stool, putting the hat on. He sat there. To Hermione, he seemed to take a while; a few minutes. Then finally, the hat shouted: 'GRYFFINDOR!' Harry stood up and walked off the podium, towards the Gryffindor table. Hermione clapped, while the entire table stood up and cheered, while the Weasley twins shouted: 'We got Potter! We got Potter!'
When the sorting was finished with a few more additions to Gryffindor, including Ron, the Headmaster; Albus Dumbledore himself, stood up: 'Welcome!' he said. 'Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Thank you!' He sat down. Everybody clapped and cheered.
A moment later, food magically appeared on the table. Hermione looked around, amazed at the variety and amount. There was everything; from potatoes and chicken to pies and chips. It seemed there was something for everyone. The amount of it seemed to be because of people like Ron, who Hermione saw load his plate with practically everything.
She herself got some food as well, wondering slightly where it all came from. She began eating, more politely than Ron, who had some potato on the side of his mouth. The food was enjoyable, and she eavesdropped on the boys' conversation. They were talking to Sir Nicholas, who was apparently nicknamed 'Nearly Headless Nick'. Hermione almost threw up when she saw him take his head partially off.
'So Percy, what are classes like, and when do they begin? I do hope they start straight away, there's so much to learn' she began, trying to forget about Nearly Headless Nick's head. 'I'm particularly interested in Transfiguration, you know, turning something into something else, of course, it's supposed to be very difficult, I mean, imagine starting by trying to turn a cupboard into a horse.'
'You'll be starting small, just matches into needles and that sort of thing. You only get to large objects in sixth and seventh year. Though Transfiguration is more about the principals involved than the actual size. You may be able to transfigure large objects into something else, if the principals are the same as a match into needle' Percy said to her, looking up from his book, The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 5).
Hermione was interested. She asked: 'What about charms? It's supposedly rather easy!'
Percy frowned at this. 'Charms is one of the more difficult branches of magic, overall, mainly because it's so large a topic. There are very few charms which are similar. Where in Transfiguration you may apply the same principals and knowledge to a variety of objects, in Charms you don't have that liberty.'
'What about Herbology?'
'Herbology is easier. It's learning about different magical plants, and how to care for them. It is more dangerous, though. That's primarily because the environment isn't as controlled as a classroom. More bad things could happen.'
Hermione frowned this time. She knew that she would have to deal with magical plants, but it didn't sound particularly fun. 'How dangerous, exactly?' she asked slowly.
'Not too dangerous, the first few years you don't get hurt much at all. From fourth year, onwards is where it really starts: boils, scratches, cuts, maybe even bruises. That sort of thing' Percy answered, smiling reassuringly at Hermione.
'What about Potions?' she asked.
'Well' began Percy, slowly. 'Potions is another matter. There's no wand work, except for lighting a fire, perhaps. Other than that, it's really just about understanding principals and remembering what different ingredients do. The worst that's ever happened in my time at Hogwarts was that one girl put in the wrong ingredient, resulting in her getting some nasty acne from the smoke. The worst in the history of Hogwarts was-'
'-the explosion in sixteen-forty-nine that killed twenty-three students and two teachers, injured fifty-four more students and destroyed the entire lab and a few neighboring classrooms' finished Hermione, remembering reading about the worst events in Hogwarts: A History. 'What about Defence?'
Percy took his time answering: 'Well, Defence is interesting' he said, dropping his knife and fork onto his empty plate. 'You see, Hogwarts hasn't been able to keep a single teacher of the position for any more than a year for the past forty years. Professor Quirell, the one in the turban over there-' he said, indicating the staff table. Hermione looked around and saw the professor. He was wearing an odd turban of sorts, '-he's new, and I'm not really sure, but he doesn't look to be up to the task' finished Percy, thoughtfully.
'No more than a year? How has Dumbledore been able to fill the position. And why has no one lasted longer than a year?' asked Hermione.
Percy looked at her, and then answered: 'Rumour is that it's getting harder for Dumbledore to find someone. Any year now, he might fail, in which case he'd turn to the Board of Governors or the Ministry. As for your second question, well, apparently the position's cursed by You-Know-Who himself, who apparently came to Hogwarts some forty years ago and asked to become a teacher of that very position, but Dumbledore declined. But that too, is just a rumour.'
Suddenly, the plates were cleaned and all the food disappeared, to be replaced a moment later by dessert. There was all sorts, candies, puddings, treacle tart. Hermione picked a few things and ate carefully. Her parents had always taught her to be careful of what she ate, so as not to ruin her teeth, and, even though they weren't here, she was still going to abide by that.
Hermione was eating some treacle tart, when a question popped into her head: 'Percy, what about other subjects, like Care of Magical Creatures, Arithmacy?'
'Well, they're all subjects that you can only take from third year onwards. You're also allowed into Hogsmeade from third year onwards' he said. He opened his mouth to continue, but was interrupted by one of his brothers.
'That you are, Percy, and this year. Me and George are going to take Hogsmeade by storm' said Fred loudly, smiling at his older brother. Hermione looked at Percy, who seemed both angry and nervous.
'You know what mother said about you two going to Hogsmeade' he told the twins. 'You have to behave. Behave. Otherwise, she'll send you both a Howler and write to Professor McGonagall, telling her that you two can't go. Don't forget that I'm a prefect as well! And if you step out of line in Hogsmeade, and embarrass the school and Gryffindor, then I'll take a lot of points and write to mother and let Professor McGonagall punish you accordingly. Mother would not be pleased!' Percy seemed to inflate, red in the face. The twins turned back to their food, and smiled at each other.
At that moment, the puddings disappeared and Professor Dumbledore stood up, and ascended his lectern. He peered around at the students, smiling warmly at everyone. The Hall fell silent. He cleared his throat and spoke: 'Ahem – just a few more words now we are all fed and watered. I have a few start-of-term notices to give you. First years should note that the forest in the grounds is forbidden to all pupils. And a few of our older students would do well to remember as well.' Dumbledore's eyes flicked towards the Weasley twins, and Hermione briefly wondered what they had done in that forest.
'I have also been asked by Mr Filch, the caretaker, to remind you all that no magic should be used between classes in the corridors. Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of term. Anyone interested in playing for their house teams should contact Madam Hooch.'
Hermione wondered what this 'Quidditch' was. It seemed to be a sport, as a lot of the older boys started smiling at this news. Hermione made a mental note to ask Percy about it later. She looked over at him. He seemed to frown in disapproval at the Headmaster's words. Perhaps not then, thought Hermione. Someone else would do.
'And finally, I must tell you that this year, the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a very painful death' finished Professor Dumbledore. Hermione frowned at this. She heard Harry laugh, but he was one of few. The rest of the hall seemed just as perplexed as Hermione was.
'And now, before we go to bed, let us sing the school song!' cried Dumbledore. Hermione saw that some of the teacher's seemed to wear smiles that didn't quite reach their eyes anymore. Dumbledore flicked his wand, and a golden ribbon appeared floating a few feet in front and above Dumbledore: 'Everyone pick their favourite tune and off we go!' He began to conduct, while the words formed themselves.
Hermione quickly picked a random tune, 'Rule Britannia', and started singing, though it was hard, with so many different tunes surrounding her:
'Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts,
Teach us something please,
Whether we be old and bald
Or young with scabby knees,
Our heads could do with filling
With some interesting stuff,
For now they're bare and full of air,
Dead flies and bits of fluff,
So teach us things worth knowing,
Bring back what we've forgot,
Just do your best, we'll do the rest,
And learn until our brains all rot.'
Hermione finished the song. She found that she actually liked it. She heard Percy grumble as he finished. He seemed not to like it. Hermione looked around; most students were smiling, seeming to enjoy the song. The Weasley twins were the only ones left singing, to the tune of an old funeral march. Dumbledore conducted their last few lines and said: 'Ah, music, a magic beyond all we do here! And now, bedtime. Off you trot!'
As a thousand students stood up; scraping the benches against the floor, Percy called out over the dim: 'First years, follow me, please! Keep with me! Stay in line!' He led them all out of the hall, and up the grand staircase. They climbed a number of staircases, and came to a stop when they came across a number of walking canes hanging in mid-air. Percy took a step towards them, and they started throwing themselves at him.
'Peeves, a poltergeist' he whispered to the first years. He raised his voice, 'Peeves – show yourself!'
There was no answer. 'Do you want me to go to the Bloody Baron?' said Percy.
There was a pop and a little man with wicked dark eyes and a wide mouth appeared, floating in mid-air.
'Oooooooh!' he said. 'Ickle firsties! What fun!'
'Go away Peeves, or the Baron'll hear about this, I mean it!' said Percy, turning red. Peeves floated away, cackling madly. 'You want to watch out for Peeves' said Percy, as they all resumed walking. 'The Bloody Baron's the only one who can control him, he won't even listen to us Prefects.'
They finally reached a portrait of a very fat woman in a pink dress, who seemed to be in her thirties. She was singing, or at least, attempting to sing opera. She was holding a large wine glass. She stopped when she saw Percy.
'So, you're the new prefect? Doesn't surprise me one bit!' she said to Percy in a rather high, pompous voice. 'Password?' she asked, gruffly.
'Caput Draconis' said Percy. The portrait swung forward to reveal a small doorway. Percy led them through into the Gryffindor common room; a cosy round room which was full of squashy couches and chairs, and had a roaring fire.
Percy directed the girls through one doorway. Hermione and her two companions; Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil, one of the twins, climbed a spiral staircase until they reached a door with a plaque on it:
First Years
Hermione pushed the door open, and led the way in. The room was relatively small and cosy. It had three four-poster beds, with deep-red velvet curtains. In front of each bed was a large chest, beside which stood their luggage. To the left of each bed there was a mahogany desk with a mahogany chair. A small, red armchair stood beside each desk.
There were four windows, one behind each desk, while the fourth was between two of the beds. Two of the windows opened up towards the lake, while the other two, towards the mountains. To the right of each bed was a large, oak wardrobe, with a door from the floor to the top of the wardrobe. Hermione was left with one of the side-by-side beds, after Lavender seemed to have demanded the more isolated bed for her rather large volume of stuff. Hermione ignored this and opened her wardrobe and saw that the wardrobe was actually, magically, a walk-in wardrobe. It looked like it was bigger inside then it was out. On the far wall was a small makeup table with three mirrors. There was even a vanity mirror.
Hermione, however, thought the wardrobe was a bit too big, and suddenly it shrunk to the appropriate size. Hermione looked around. Parvati has also seemingly shrunk hers, while Lavender had seemed to have disappeared into her wardrobe.
In the middle of the room stood a large boiler. On it were a jug of water and some cups. A door to the side of Lavender's bed led to the bathroom.
Hermione sat on her bed. Parvati did likewise.
'So, you're Hermione Granger?' asked Parvati, a bit nervously.
'Yeah, and you're Parvati Patil, right?' asked Hermione. Parvati nodded.
'Looks like we're roommates for the next seven years' said Parvati. Lavender suddenly joined them, having emerged from her wardrobe.
'So I'm half-blood! What about you?' she demanded of Parvati and Hermione.
'Er, I'm half-blood as well' said Parvati.
'I'm muggle-born' said Hermione, nervously. 'But I thought that didn't really matter?'
'Oh! Of course it doesn't, at least not here in Gryffindor, but in Slytherin it does, which is just really pathetic. I mean muggles have learnt to adapt to so much without wands. I mean, did you know that they can fly. Yeah, fly! Well, in really big things called planes. Then there's the trains, and cars and those tele-fission, or something' said Lavender. She looked at Hermione, smiling.
'Oh, er, yeah, there is all that' said Hermione, slightly stunned.
Lavender rambled on: 'Then there's of course the fact that most of the wizarding world is made up of half-bloods. Mum said that had pure wizards always interbred, they would have died out from a mixture of sickness and not enough population, leaving muggle-borns to take over, the last thing that, ironically, the pure-bloods want!' Lavender continued rambling on about this. Parvati looked pleadingly at Hermione, but Hermione just shook her head at Parvati and shrugged her shoulders. Let it pass, she mouthed to Parvati.
When Lavender finally did finish, Hermione took the plunge and asked a question:
'So, what's Quidditch' she asked, addressing Parvati, more than Lavender.
Thankfully, Parvati replied before Lavender opened her mouth: 'Quidditch is basically the single biggest sport in the wizarding world. Sort of like muggles have football' she began. 'It's played on broomsticks. There are fourteen players; two teams, seven players each. There are four balls-'
'Four balls' exclaimed Hermione.
'-yes, four balls. Anyway, one ball is the Quaffle. The Quaffle is used by three of the players; the Chasers. The Chasers pass to each other, trying to score a goal into one of the three hoops of the opposing side. A score into a hoop is ten points. The defender of the hoops is the fourth player; the Keeper. Then there are two balls called Bludgers. They are essentially there for hitting players. They zoom around the pitch, trying to hit the players. There general direction is controlled by the Beaters. There are two Beaters per team. They use bats to hit the Bludgers' she paused, taking a breath.
'Gryffindors Beaters are the two Weasley twins' she said. 'The fourth and final ball, as well as the seventh and final player is the most interesting. The ball is called the Snitch and the layer is called the Seeker. The Snitch is generally a small golden ball which flies really fast around the pitch. The Seekers job is to catch it. First they have to see it and then catch it. The Seeker that catches the Snitch earns one-hundred and fifty points for their team, meaning they usually win. The game only ends when the Snitch is caught.'
'Only? What if the game goes for like a few hours?' asked Hermione.
'Standard games last anywhere between two and six hours' said Parvati. 'But there are games which have lasted mere minutes or whole weeks. I think the record is like, three months.'
'Three months!' exclaimed Hermione. 'But how do they sleep, and eat?'
'There are reserves generally, and that isn't a Hogwarts game, either' said Parvati.
'I remember daddy taking us to see the Holyhead Harpies verse the Chudley Cannons' said Lavender. 'The game went on for nine days! The Cannons are my team' she said, at Hermione's look of confusion.
'The Harpies are mine' said Parvati. They ended their conversation and went back to their luggage.
Hermione decided that she would unpack some of her stuff right now, and the rest tomorrow. She looked around until she found her trunk. She took out her pyjamas and dressed in them as well as putting a few of her possessions on the shelf overhead of the bed, before climbing in between her covers. She fell asleep quickly, thinking about what the following day would bring.
So, some of the stuff is more movie related (like the grand staircase0, well other stuff is more book related.
It was fun to create the conversation between Percy and Hermione, and having the Weasley twins interrupt was great as well.
I do wonder, however, how Hermione lived the remainder of her sixth year with Lavender, after getting together with Ron. A lot of shield charms, probably.
The next chapter will be about Hermione's first week or so at Hogwarts. Her classes, trying to make new friends. Did you like Lavender practically hogging an entire side of the dorm? It would probably be what she would do, even at eleven years old.
Yes, I do consider Parvati to be Hermione's friend. I think that they would get along rather well. Of course, later on Hermione goes with Harry, Ron and Ginny, but for now Parvati is friendly enough.
